


unexpected surprise

by oceansgrey



Category: Naruto
Genre: Akatsuki is a super bad drug cartel, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Police, Babysitter Iruka, Dad Gai, Gai owns a gym, Iruka the perpetually tired college student, M/M, dad kakashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2019-10-26 18:41:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 34,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17751356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceansgrey/pseuds/oceansgrey
Summary: Kakashi is a cop and adopted father to three lovely little hellions. Gai owns a gym and is the father of three wonderful youthful lotuses.Basically two dads falling in love.





	1. Kakashi's Interesting Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi's morning starts out as it usually does, until he meets a certain man.

Kakashi loved his kids. He really did, but they sometimes could be a handful.

By sometimes, he meant all the time.

The familiar buzz of his alarm clock jolted him awake, his arm instinctively clutching around whoever was fast asleep by his side. The mess of black hair poking out from the top of the blanket informed him that it was Sasuke, and he could hear the heavy footsteps in the hall that no doubly belonged to Naruto as he made his way to the bathroom. Sakura slept like the angel she could pretend to be, snoring softly to his side.

He hadn’t meant to come home late last night, tired from a long shift at the station, but the assurance from Iruka made him feel slightly better. It was nice to know that the kids hadn’t tormented their babysitter this time around, and he even told Kakashi that after dinner, they played a game together until they all crashed onto Kakashi’s bed.

“Papa Kashi,” Sakura whined, pulling her doll to her chest. “Turn off the beeps,”

Kakashi didn’t need to be told twice, slapping the snooze button blindly. He pulled Sasuke, still asleep, to his chest and wrapped his other arm around Sakura, pulling her close. Naruto probably would join within the next few minutes, jumping excitedly on the bed and demanding breakfast.

A moment with his kids in quiet was greatly appreciated.

 

Four years ago, if someone had asked Kakashi what he thought of children, he would have told them that they were snot-nosed little gremlins who sucked the happiness from people, as well as money. He hadn’t expected his former teacher to pass, naming him the godfather of his son, a newborn Naruto.

He also hadn’t expected six months later his former partner Itachi to suddenly vanish, leaving his only remaining family, a one year old Sasuke, in his care.

He especially did not expect to end up with a daughter, Sakura, two years old and clinging to his police uniform with too much force for a toddler, sobbing when he stopped a child trafficking ring.

Together, the four made a unique little family, alongside Kakashi’s dogs. Being a single dad of three toddlers, the same age and with the same amount of crazy energy, several dogs, on top of his duties as a police officer, it seemed like his life was enveloped in nothing but chaos.

He wouldn’t trade it for the world.

 

As expected, not even ten minutes after Kakashi managed to fall back asleep, Naruto came into the room, bouncing up and down on the bed.

“Wake up, Dad!” he shouted. “Breakfast time!”

“No,” Sasuke said, using his favorite word. He opted to nuzzle back into Kakashi’s side, clutching his stuffed dinosaur in his hands.

Sakura, on the other hand, sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She let out a yawn, shaking her head.

“Pakashi,” she said, placing a small hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. “Wakey, wakey,”

“Traitor,” Kakashi mumbled, sitting up in bed. Naruto bounced once more, plopping himself down onto Kakashi’s knees. Wincing in pain, Kakashi reached out and grabbed Naruto to assault him with early morning tickles.

Hearing his laughter was a perfectly good way to wake up.

 

Breakfast was a challenge with three four year olds.

Sakura demanded pancakes, the same thing she always wanted for breakfast. Sasuke wanted an omelet with tomatoes. Naruto wanted cup ramen, because Iruka was a good babysitter and let him eat cup ramen, so it had to be acceptable for breakfast.

“Maa, can’t you all agree on something?” Kakashi asked, crouching down in front of his kids. He watched them look at each other, the raise in Sasuke’s eyebrows, the little wiggle Sakura always did when she thought something over, Naruto’s brow furrowed.

“Sannin Legends!” they said together, causing their tired father to roll his eyes.

Of course, they could agree on their favorite cartoon show.

“How about,” Kakashi said, standing. “I make some scrambled eggs and some toast, and we can all watch Sannin Legends,”

“Yes!” Naruto jumped up, pumping his hand in the air. Sasuke nodded, rushing off to the living room. Sakura smiled up at Kakashi before laying on the floor beside Pakkun, who was eagerly eating from his food dish.

Making breakfast would have been easy, had Naruto not wanted to help. Making scrambled eggs turned into three eggs being dropped onto the floor, a bunch of shells falling into the bowl, and Sasuke, who was supposed to watch the toaster, accidentally burning the toast. Sakura assigned herself to dog watching duty, rolling around on the carpet with Biscuit while Bull watched from the couch.

It turned out to be a success, somehow, since Kakashi managed to wrangle them all together into the living room to watch their cartoon with breakfast made.

He got to enjoy a hot cup of coffee while watching Sasuke and Naruto argue over who was the cooler character, the toad user Gamabunta or the snake user named Manda, while Sakura loved the princess Katsuyu. The kids at least agreed that the villain, Zetsu, a monstrous plant thing, was the “absolute worst,” as they put it.

Maybe he should pay Iruka a bit more for babysitting them.

 

“You look exhausted, Hatake,” Tenzo noted, watching Kakashi come into the bullpen. “Kids keep you up?”

“Sasuke keeps having nightmares,” Kakashi sighed, thankful that his mask was hiding his frown. “And Sakura is still having a hard time with me leaving for work,”

“That’s understandable, given what she went through,” Tenzo frowned. When they had rescued her, the homicide unit had discovered her parents in their home, no living relatives left to claim the little girl. Kakashi had been the first to see her and grab her, and she still had a bit of separation anxiety when he had to leave for work. It was easier, since she felt comfortable with Iruka, the college student Kakashi paid handsomely for watching his little hellions, and knowing that she was surrounded by her two brothers, but she still threw tantrums every time he had to leave.

Today, he had to sit in front of the door for ten minutes until she cried herself out, falling asleep in his arms before he handed her off to a tired looking Iruka.

“We have a call,” Tsunade, their Chief of Police, said, sitting herself on Kakashi’s desk. “Some guy had a break-in at his gym. You two, go check it out,”

“Maa, I just got here,” Kakashi complained.

“Well, if you got here on time, then you’d be settled in,”

“I simply got lost of the track of life,”

“The track of life called your crazy little brats?”

“You bet,”

 

Yamato parked in front of the Might Gym, following the directions Tsunade had given them. Kakashi sluggishly exited the patrol car, taking the last few sips from his cup of coffee.

“The owner’s name is Gai, and he said that there was some sort of break in last night,” Tenzo informed him, skimming over the report he had been given. “It appeared to be a man who is pale, tall, with long dark hair. Surveillance had a really shitty picture of the suspect, but that’s about it. Several hundred dollars were stolen, as well as personal info on a few clients,”

“This is going to be a drag,” Kakashi said, pushing open the door to the gym. “Let’s get it over with,”

Kakashi almost missed seeing the owner, since he was busy running on a treadmill.

Tight green leggings clung to thick, muscular legs, skin tanned from the sun glistening as he pulled the cropped shirt up to wipe the sweat from his face. The first thing Kakashi noticed, other than the very fine assets the owner had, was his pitch black hair, styled into a bowl cut.

Hadn’t that gone out of style years ago?

“Oh, you must be the police officers for the interview,” the man said, pressing a few buttons on the treadmill. The belt slowed to a stop, letting the man step off. He held out a hand to Kakashi, giving him a wink. “My name is Gai. Might Gai, the owner. I take it you’re here about the break-in,”

Kakashi grabbed the hand, returning the shake. He tried to ignore his heart skipping a beat as he gazed at the handsome face of their robbery victim.

It was just like his one romance novel, where the heroic cop came and helped out the poor victim, sweeping them off their feet from danger.

Kakashi never believed in love at first sight, but those leggings were doing amazing things to that man’s ass, and he was tempted to change his mind.

“This is Officer Hatake, and I’m Officer Yamato,” Tenzo said for Kakashi, not missing the subtle blush peeking out from under his face mask. “We’re just here to ask a few questions, and to review the surveillance footage,”

Thank goodness for Yamato.


	2. Gai's Little Lotus Blossoms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day of kindergarten, and Gai meets a handsome detective.

“Oh, how my youth roars!” Gai shouted, wiping his face furiously as the tears flowed down his cheeks. “I am so proud of you, my beautiful little children!”

“Dad, you’re embarrassing us,” Tenten said, frowning as her dad reached out to pinch her cheek.

“We’re just going to kindergarten,” Neji argued.

“But you’re all my babies!” Gai scooped his trio of children into his arms, squeezing them tightly. “I love you all, my baby lotuses!”

“I love you, too, Dad!” Rock Lee smiled brightly, crying alongside his father. Neji rolled his eyes, wiser than his five years of age. Tenten groaned, trying to worm her way out of Gai’s titan strength.

“Dad, you’re crushing me,” Tenten whined. Gai set his kids down, glancing ahead at the entrance to their kindergarten classroom. His friend from college, Kurenai, was going to be their teacher, putting his heart at ease. If anyone could handle his children, it was her.

“Be good, and don’t forget to share with everyone,” Gai said, grabbing the backpack strap to Neji’s backpack to prevent him from walking away. “Neji, you’re a genius, but please, don’t be rude. Tenten, no stabbing people with pencils. Lee, remember to not overshare. I love you all, be good and don’t cause too much trouble!”

“Gai, we have to get started,” Kurenai warned, giving him a wave from the doorway of the classroom.

Gai wrapped his arms around his three children, pressing big kisses to all of their cheeks. Neji tried turning his head to avoid his, but it was no use.

“Bye, Dad!” Rock Lee waved. “I love you!”

“Bye, Dad, love you!” Tenten followed Kurenai into the room.

“Bye,” Neji stormed off, trailing after Tenten.

“You have my number,” Gai said, pulling Kurenai into a quick hug. “If they cause too much trouble, give me a call,”

“They’ll be fine, Gai,” Kurenai laughed. “They’re five, not eighteen. They’re not fleeing the nest any time soon,”

“Don’t say that!”

“Aw, are you gonna cry?”

“Of course! They’re my little lotus blossoms!”

Kurenai rolled her eyes, ushering Gai out.

 

It had officially been two hours of silence, and Gai was going crazy. His household, as small and cozy as it was, usually was bustling with the sounds of Rock Lee and Neji play fighting, Tenten as their referee. Gai was so used to noise that the sudden lack of noise made his heart ache in the absence of it.

He needed his kids more than they needed him, it seemed.

There had been a break-in at the gym he owned last night, waking him and Tenten up at two in the morning. She had been nervous about starting kindergarten and had fallen asleep with him after three readthroughs of “The Strongest Ninja Girl,” her absolute favorite book, and he knew that she would probably be cranky throughout the day due to the lack of sleep.

He got up from his couch, deciding to go in for a quick workout before the police showed up to interview him about the robbery. Something uneasy settled in his gut, disliking the idea that some of the personal files of his clients had been taken, even his own.

Maybe some running would take his mind off things.

 

Gai had not expected the detective to be so incredibly handsome.

He looked like he had rolled out of bed and thrown on the first available things he could find. His dress shirt was a little wrinkled, tie loose around his neck. Slacks were at least straight, but the man looked exhausted, silver hair sticking every which way. A mask covered the lower half of his face, and Gai suddenly felt underdressed in his compression leggings and workout shirt, which just happened to be an old college shirt he had cut up into a crop top.

“Can you tell us if you saw anything unusual?” Detective Hatake asked, retrieving a pen and small notebook from his pocket. “Anything out of the ordinary for you?”

Gai suddenly found himself at a loss of words, confronted by his man of destiny.

He needed to ask him out to dinner before the end of the week.

“I didn’t, no,” Gai said, finding his voice. “My assistant manager, Asuma, locked up last night. I left around three to go pick my kids up from their babysitter, and then I was home the rest of the night. I got a call from the security system company around two, and then they called you,”

“Can we see where your surveillance cameras are?” Detective Yamato asked. “We’ll just need a copy of last night’s footage,”

“Sure,” Gai waved for them to follow him into his office. “Come with me,”

 

The first thing Gai noticed about Detective Hatake while Yamato skimmed through footage was that the silver haired detective’s gaze kept lingering on some of the family pictures Gai kept. There were plenty of pictures from his bodybuilding days, pictures of him holding first place trophies and posing, but the most recent pictures that began to fill his desk and walls were of his beloved children. The one the detective was currently staring at was a picture Tenten had taken when she was two, her face covering most of the camera, but Gai and Lee were in the background, giving identical thumbs ups with big, bright smiles. The one right next to it was the kids at the park, Lee hanging upside down from the monkey bars while Neji reached over to tag Tenten, her face in a bright smile as she was mid-run.

“Is there any reason anyone would try to steal from you, Mr. Might?” Yamato asked, turning from the computer screen to draw him from his staring.

“No,” Gai shook his head. “I’m pretty friendly and easygoing with everyone, so I don’t really know why anyone would break in. I’m not upset about the money, I’m mostly just worried about the files. They had a lot of personal info on my clients,”

“Well, we’ll keep in touch if anything comes up,” Detective Hatake said, holding out a small card. “If anyone suspicious comes, or if you need us, give us a call,”

Gai accepted the card, looking down at the neat font that read out Kakashi’s name and the number to reach him at.

“I most certainly will,” Gai said with a wink, leading the detectives out.

 

“I made a new friend!” Lee announced at dinner, eagerly eating into his curry. “His name is Gaara, and we played tag at recess together!”

“You did? I’m so proud,” Gai smiled, reaching over to ruffle his son’s hair. “What about you’re day, Tenten?”

Tenten made a face, pushing aside her broccoli. She was still weary of eating the vegetable, which she insisted looked like little trees.

“It was good,” she said. “Ms. Yuuhi said you’re her friend from school,”

“I am!” Gai said. “We worked at the store together, remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” Tenten nodded, remembering the sports shop Gai had worked at before opening up the gym two years prior. Kurenai had been the manager there. “She gave me a cool sticker!”

“What about you, Neji?” Gai asked, looking at his oldest.

Neji had always been distant and was the most reluctant to answer to Gai. His father had been murdered only a year and a half ago, and the social worker who had been in charge of Tenten’s case had set Neji up with Gai, who immediately moved to adopt him. Neji had a hard time expressing his feelings, but was usually blunt about his thoughts to Gai.

“My cousin is in our class,” Neji said quietly, pushing his plate aside. “Excuse me,”

Gai let out a sigh, getting up from the table to trail after Neji, who went to the living room.

Hizashi Hyuga died under mysterious circumstances. Gai refused to believe the coroner’s determination of suicide, always feeling that there was something more to it. His brother, Hiashi, had refused to take in Neji, which is how Gai ended up adopting his second son.

Knowing that Neji had to see his cousin, Hiashi’s daughter, stung him deep in his heart.

Neji looked on the brink of breaking down into tears when he turned to face Gai. Gai simply got down onto his knees and pulled him in for a hug, holding him close as Neji cried into his shoulder quietly.

“It’s okay to feel sad,” Gai repeated. He had been saying it every time Neji got upset since the incident. “Know that Papa loves you, and that your Dad loved you very, very much,”

Neji nodded. Gai pressed a small kiss to the top of his head, letting Neji calm himself down naturally.

Gai would do anything for his kids, and if it means he has to confront all their demons, so be it.

“Is it time for a group hug?” Lee asked, running into the living room and launching himself onto Gai’s back. “Family hug time, Tenten!”

“Okay,” Tenten hopped down from her chair at the table, running over to wiggle her way under Gai’s arm to hug Neji.

“Oh, I love you all!” Gai cried, sniffling happily. Holding his three babies close to him, he noticed Neji’s mood improve. “Alright, kiddos. Let’s finish up dinner, then we’ll watch a movie before bed. Sound good?”

“Yes!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gai is just super full of love for his kids.


	3. Time to Act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi's going to do it.  
> He's going to ask out the gym owner. 
> 
> Gai decides to ask out the handsome detective of his dreams.
> 
> Things don't go as planned.

“You need a day off,” Tsunade said, glancing at Kakashi over the rim of her coffee cup. “And probably more time with your kids,”

“I think Kakashi’d like to help out with our break-in case more,” Tenzo snickered. Kakashi felt his face heat up in embarrassment, thankful for his mask.

“Oh?” Tsunade raised an eyebrow quizzically. “And why’s that?”

She knew damn well, the coy smile she flashed at Tenzo indicating that he had already filled her in.

“If I have to hear about his muscles one more time, I’m going back and setting you up on a date myself,” Tenzo teased.

“C’mon, kid. When was the last time you had a date?”

Kakashi shrugged.

In all honesty, he couldn’t remember. After high school, he went into the police force, and when Minato and Kushina passed, leaving him the guardian of Naruto, his time was consumed with work and being a father. His free time got increasingly short after Sasuke and Sakura, and Kakashi liked to think of himself as a full time dad, part time cop.

“He’s too wrapped up in his shitty romance novels,” Tsunade said. “I can’t believe you read that garbage Jiraiya writes. Go out and get yourself a date. I’ll even babysit for you. Give that kid you force to watch your gremlins some time off,”

“You’re just saying that because Sakura thought you were a princess,” Kakashi teased.

“And that’s why she’s my favorite. At least she doesn’t call me ‘granny,’ or ‘hag,’ like your boys do,”

 

All Gai could think about for the past few days was the detective. When he wasn’t dropping the kids off for school or karate practice, he was daydreaming in work about the handsome man, the mask adding a sense of secrecy.

What was he hiding? Was it a horrible birthmark? Buck teeth? No teeth? Did he have nice, big, pouty lips?

“Hey, Gai,” Asuma said, snapping his fingers in Gai’s face, drawing him from his nice daydream. “Welcome back to earth,”

“Sorry, Asuma,” Gai apologized. “I’ve just-”

“Been thinking about the cute cop, I know,” his friend rolled his eyes. “You didn’t shut up about him for ten minutes when I came in the other day, and now you’re daydreaming? I better be invited to the wedding,”

“I barely even know him,” Gai said, unable to fight the smile that came to his face. “I want to know everything about him,”

“Ask him out,” Asuma said, shrugging. “You’re always going on about the ‘springtime of youth’ and passion and shit. Just ask him next time you see him. Kurenai and I can watch the kids,”

“You really mean it?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Asuma chuckled. “You haven’t been with anyone since Lee’s mom, right? Go get yourself a cute cop,”

 

Naruto laid on Bull’s stomach, watching Kakashi fuss around with his tie. Sasuke was playing with his dinosaur and the robot Naruto had, making them crash into one another. Sakura sat with Pakkun in her lap, legs swinging as she intently watched Kakashi get ready.

“How do I look?” Kakashi asked, turning around to show them. He was going down to the gym to ask Gai out, mostly to shut up Tsunade and Tenzo, and needed an opinion on his outfit.

Getting the opinion from three kids probably wasn’t a smart idea, but they were all he had. The dogs couldn’t tell him if he looked stupid, but Sasuke sure could.

“You look like a prince!” Sakura offered, but Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Wearing a sweater and a pair of slacks definitely did not count as prince-worthy, but it felt nice knowing she thought he looked nice.

“Boring,” Sasuke looked up from his toys, making a face. “Like that old guy on tv,”

“The guy from the news?” Naruto added. Sasuke nodded, sliding down from the bed. He wandered over to Kakashi’s open closet, standing on his toes as he peered at all the different things he could wear.

“This,” Sasuke grabbed the hem of one of Kakashi’s old academy shirts. “This one, Papa Kashi,”

“Oh!” Naruto got up, ignoring the whine from Bull. He grabbed a pair of Kakashi’s jeans that he rarely wore, holding them up. “These, too!”

“I wanna help!” Sakura moved Pakkun off her lap, joining the two. Kakashi watched as she looked around the closet, frowning when she couldn’t find anything suitable. Her face suddenly lit up, and she took off towards her room. Kakashi shook his head, taking the shirt and pants from Sasuke and Naruto.

Sakura came bounding in a few minutes later, holding her favorite red hair ribbon.

“Thank you,” he said, taking it from her. “But I think it looks better on you,”

He leaned down, fastening it in her hair to push her bangs out of her face.

“But my forehead,” Sakura covered her forehead, pouting.

“It’s a perfectly normal one,” Kakashi poked her. “Here. You can help me pick out my socks,”

 

Kakashi always dreaded bringing the kids to the station. Naruto loved to run around and talk to anyone and everyone, making their usual quick visits drawn out.

“Hi, Izu and Tetsu!” Naruto shouted, bounding over to the pair. Izumo and Kotetsu loved when Kakashi brought the kids, always ready with candy. Sasuke wandered over after Naruto, but Sakura remained in Kakashi’s arms, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. She usually was shy around his other coworkers, and had only warmed up to Tenzo with how often he usually crashed on the couch after a long shift and was too tired to drive to his apartment.

“There’s my favorite little Hatake!” Tsunade said, walking across the bullpen to Kakashi. “Hi, Sakura,”

“Hi, Tsuna,” Sakura said, perking her head up and holding her arms out. Tsunade gladly took her and placed her on her hip, a wide smile on her face.

“It’s Granny!” Naruto jumped up and down excitedly.

“Say goodbye to your dad, kids,” Tsunade said, using one free hand to take the bag Kakashi packed with their things. “Tell him to have fun and get a date, yeah?”

Kakashi knelt down to the level of his kids, holding his arms out. Sakura crawled out of Tsunade’s grasp to throw herself into his grasp. Naruto ran over, dragging Sasuke. Kakashi pressed a few kisses to their cheeks, giving them a tight squeeze.

“Be good, okay? Don’t be too much trouble,” he said.

“We’ll be good, Dad. Promise,” Naruto said.

“Pinky promise?”

“We promise!”

 

Gai looked down at the card in his hand, watching it shake in his trembling grasp. Today was the day he was going to ask the detective if he would be his eternal man of destiny, and pursue a passionate, youthful relationship with him.

He was only twenty-five, but he felt like he needed to spend the rest of his springtime of his youth with this mystery man.

Steeling himself, he took a deep breath in before pushing open the door.

Maneuvering through a few halls, Gai found himself in the midst of a bustling bullpen, officers moving around him. There was the sound of laughter, drawing his attention to the people closest to the office of the Chief of Police.

There, standing amidst a few officers, was the handsome detective, a small girl with pink hair clinging to his shirt as she cried. Another child, a mess of black hair that seemed to stick up only in the back, was wailing as he clung to his jeans. The blond boy was tucked in an older woman’s arms, lip wobbly and eyes brimming with tears.

When Gai had left the house earlier, Kurenai and Asuma on babysitting duty, Neji had given him a quick hug, while Tenten kissed his cheek and Lee had clung to him for two minutes until he was able to leave the house.

It seemed familiar, yet different, to see the detective deal with this.

“Um,” Gai suddenly felt himself at a loss of words, recognizing at least one face.

“Sorry, Kakashi’s kids are a little clingy,” Yamato apologized, giving him a small wave. “He was actually just going to go to the gym to see you, so good timing, I suppose?”

“Oh, I didn’t know he had children,”

“Yeah,” Yamato said, gesturing to Kakashi, who was now trying to console the two kids in his arms.

“C’mon,” he pleaded. “Please, be good for Tsunade,”

“I wanna go with Papa!” Sakura wailed pitifully, wiping her face into Kakashi’s shoulder.

“Who’s the beefcake?” Tsunade asked, jerking a thumb in Gai’s direction.

“Bushy brows!” Naruto said from her arms, taking a dislike to the nickname she gave Gai.

Kakashi turned around, one hand supporting Sakura and the other resting on Sasuke’s head. His eyes were wide, staring at the gym owner with his one good eye.

“Mr. Might-”

“You can just call me Gai,” Gai said, giving a small wave. “Need some help there?”

Kakashi shifted Sakura to easily sit on his hip, looking down at Sasuke. He leaned down to scoop him up, propping him on his other hip.

“No,” he said. “Sorry, they’re just… really clingy,”

“I understand,” Gai gave a sympathetic smile. “My youngest, Lee, tends to be pretty clingy,”

“Maa, Sakura, easy,” Kakashi said, flinching slightly in pain as Sakura pulled at the collar of his shirt. “I, uh, was going to see you,”

“I was looking for you,” Gai said. “Would you like to go out to dinner with me?”

“If I can get the kids to let go of me, then yes,” Kakashi said, smiling under his mask at the handsome man in front of him. “I’d love to,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU, I wanted Gai to be Lee's biological dad, and Tenten and Neji are his adopted kids. Gai loves all of his kids equally, though!   
> Next chapter is some background/a quick drabble I did late at night.


	4. A Glimpse Into the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi and Itachi, and Sasuke and Naruto.  
> A bit of background.

Kakashi strolled into work a total of ten minutes late, cups of coffee in hand. He knew his young partner would need it, especially after a long night of keeping tabs on a teething baby.

Itachi was fast asleep at his desk, leaning back in his chair with Sasuke, swaddled up, asleep on his chest. Kakashi rolled his eyes, thankful for being a single man with just three dogs.

If he had to deal with a baby day in and day out, he’d probably lose any sanity he had left.

“Hey, Itachi,” he set down the coffee on their desks, giving his younger partner a shake. “Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey,”

“Huh?” Itachi jolted awake, rubbing his eye with the hand that wasn’t holding Sasuke to him. “Hm?”

“You fell asleep at your desk, genius,” Kakashi said, setting down several packets of sugar next to Itachi’s large cup of coffee. “Time to start the day,”

“Sorry,” he apologized, sitting up and shifting Sasuke into his arms. “He’s been up all night, screaming,”

“I know, teething. You said so yesterday,”

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Itachi said, sounding guilty.

Kakashi frowned, feeling bad for his partner. Orphaned at the age of eighteen, with a newborn Sasuke, Itachi had enrolled into the police academy and graduated youngest in his class. Being the son of the former Chief of Police helped, but he was still a kid, almost nineteen.

Thankfully, Itachi had a friend from high school who was always willing to babysit, so long as he got to do his homework and mooch off the sweets Itachi stress-baked.

“He’s finally asleep?” Iruka said, walking through the crowd of officers towards the two. “I thought he’d never fall asleep, until you got home,”

“Thank you,” Itachi handed Sasuke off to Iruka. “I’ve had to piss for the past hour and I couldn’t leave him,”

Iruka laughed, watching the prodigy rush off towards the bathroom.

“God, I never want kids,” Kakashi said, nodding towards the sleeping baby. “My old teacher from high school is gonna be a dad soon. I can barely take care of myself,”

Kakashi had barely managed to get through high school, if it weren’t for Mr. Namikaze. Minato had always been a steady figure in his life, ever since the sudden suicide of Kakashi’s own father. He and his wife had accepted him with open arms, a warmth Kakashi had missed.

“I want to teach little kids, and I want them eventually,” Iruka said, shifting to rest Sasuke on his shoulder. “But this gives me good practice,”

“I am so sorry,” Itachi said, returning. He reached under his desk to pull out a backpack stuffed full of anything Sasuke might need. “I packed his dinosaur, and plenty of extra onesies and diapers, and-”

“I’ll be fine for your shift,” Iruka laughed softly. “Go, get some work done. I’ll see you at six, Itachi,”

With that, he took the backpack and left the precinct, Sasuke in tow.

“I’ll drive?” Kakashi offered, and Itachi gave him a small smile.

 

Itachi ended up falling asleep three minutes into their patrol, which Kakashi couldn’t bring it in him to complain about. He was working tirelessly as a cop and as a single guardian of a six month old, and Kakashi noticed the dark bags under his eyes.

Poor kid probably got less that five hours of sleep a day.

Patrols usually were boring, letting Kakashi catch up on his romance novel reading while Itachi caught up on sleep. The section of the city they usually patrolled was the richer, quieter side. Izumo and Kotetsu seemed to get the short end of the stick every time, stuck keeping watch on the section of the city with the most drug dens and domestic violence issues.

The radio crackled to life on Kakashi’s shoulder, which meant that he had to wake Itachi.

“Hey, get up,” he shook his shoulder, watching his partner jostle awake. “Burglary at the bank,”

Itachi frowned, flipping on the siren as Kakashi drove off in the direction of the robbery.

 

After their shift, Kakashi received the worst news of his life.

Minato and Kushina Namikaze-Uzumaki were killed by a drunk driver, but their newborn child, Naruto, was saved, and was a healthy, beautiful baby boy.

Kakashi had been named the godfather, found scribbled in the margins of Minato’s agenda.

Kakashi showed up at Itachi’s apartment hours later, a newborn Naruto swaddled up in a blue blanket.

“Help,”

 

Itachi and Kakashi ended up switching partners, allowing for one to be able to look after the infants while the other worked. They fell into a similar routine for six months, and soon, Sasuke’s first birthday rolled around.

Kakashi was at work, patrolling the city with Yamato, his new partner. After work, he was planning on stopping by a bakery to pick up a small cake for the four of them, and maybe catching up on some sleep before Itachi had to go in for the night shift.

A sudden call came through on Yamato’s end, which he picked up almost immediately.

“What?” he pressed the phone closer to his ear. “What do you mean he’s gone?”

Silence.

“He couldn’t vanish like that,”

More silence. The color in Yamato’s face drained as he held the phone out for Kakashi, Tsunade’s shrill cry easily heard.

 

Itachi was gone without any trace, it seemed. The last shred of evidence they could find was a surveillance camera from outside his apartment, showing him getting into a black car lacking license plates and disappearing down the road.

Kakashi found a neatly written note on his desk at the precinct, the familiar script leaving an ache in his chest.

_Kakashi,_

_If you’re reading this, then I’m already gone._

_Please, don’t look for me._

_I leave Sasuke in your capable hands._

_I’m sorry._

_\- Itachi Uchiha._

 

Kakashi went home to two babies that night, and let himself cry, the sudden realization of having to care for two children by himself crashing down on him.

Sasuke suddenly let out a cry, and Kakashi felt his chest ache. Itachi was the only one who could properly calm down his little brother, but Kakashi tried.

And boy, did he try.

He vowed, barely awake at three thirty in the morning, that he would take care of the two boys with all his might.

He was determined to keep that promise, to do better than his father had done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be Kakashi and Gai's date!  
> If updates become sporatic, it'll be because of college, so I apologize in advance!


	5. First Date

After they had managed to slip out of the station while Tenzo and Tsunade distracted the kids, Kakashi and Gai found themselves walking down the strip where there was a cluster of bars and small restaurants.

“So, where would you like to go?” Gai asked, gazing around at the restaurant signs.

“Here’s pretty good,” Kakashi said, stopping to point to Teuchi’s. “We usually head out here for drinks when we get done with big cases,”

“Sounds good,”

Gai held the door open for Kakashi, the two entering the cozy little bar. The owner, Teuchi, waved from the bar, a wide smile on his face.

“Kakashi! Haven’t seen you in a while,” he said, watching the two sit down at the bar. “How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been well,” Kakashi said, unable to stop the smile he had. “How’s Ayame?”

“Fine, fine,” Teuchi said, turning his gaze to Gai. “Hi, I’m Teuchi. New guy at the station?”

“A date, actually,” Kakashi said, clearing his throat.

“Oh,” Teuchi gave a knowing look, turning back to the bar. “What can I get you two to drink?”

“I’ll have whatever Kakashi orders,” Gai said, giving him a wink. Kakashi felt his face heat up, his heart racing.

It felt surreal, being on a date with Gai. The man had consumed his thoughts for the past three days, to the point where his kids were starting to notice.

Gai looked nice in the lowly lit bar. The green sweater he wore was tight against his hulking frame, the high waisted pants he wore accentuating his hips and ass nicely. Kakashi usually was absorbed into his romance novels, where the man was usually depicted as some sort of sex god, but here he had a jaw-dropping, handsome man next to him.

A man who actually asked him out on a date.

Kakashi hadn’t gone on any real dates before. He always got weird looks because of the mask, and the fact that he was blind in one eye after it got slashed in a bust during his rookie days, and then with adopting kids, dating was put on hold in order to put his effort into being a dad.

“I’ll be honest,” Kakashi said, taking the beer bottle from Teuchi with both hands. “I haven’t been on a date in a really long time,”

“I haven’t been on one in a long time, either,” Gai said. “That’s fine,”

Gai hadn’t been on an actual date since Lee’s mother. The thought brought a quick frown to his face, remembering the woman practically handing him their newborn and leaving without a word. Lee was an energetic baby, and then Tenten was a lovely addition to their family. Kurenai tried setting him up on a date before Neji was adopted, but it was so bad Gai had Asuma show up and make a scene so that they could escape quickly.

It was nice, being on a date with Kakashi. Gai felt himself relax as he took in the sight of the man beside him. Kakashi always looked tired, but he looked calm, dressed down in a t-shirt that bore the police academy name on it and jeans. If he looked closely, Gai could see little dogs on his socks that barely peeked out from his sneakers. He looked like he rolled out of bed, but he made it look so effortless and handsome that Gai felt himself drawn in.

He really wanted to spend more time with Kakashi.

Teuchi took their food order, darting towards the kitchen. Being the only ones seated at the bar, it suddenly felt too quiet.

“So,” Gai broke the silence. “Tell me a bit about yourself,”

“Well, I’m a cop,” Kakashi said, which had Gai laugh.

He loved hearing that laugh, the laugh that seemed to come so easily to Gai. He wanted to hear it constantly.

“I mean other than that,” Gai said.

“Well,” Kakashi took a sip from his beer. “My coworkers tell me that I have a terrible taste in literature, and my kids think I’m the coolest, lamest person on the planet. I have three dogs, and I have a plant that I’m shocked I haven’t killed, because I barely water the damn thing,”

“You can’t take care of a plant, but you have kids?”

“Hey, Mr. Ukki was my first kid,” Kakashi teased. “I got him as a present from my old history teacher,”

Gai let out another laugh, his hands busy with peeling the label off the beer.

“What about you?” Kakashi asked.

“I’m just an incredibly passionate man in the springtime of his youth,” Gai said, flashing Kakashi his dazzling smile. “I’m a black belt in jiu-jitsu and karate, and I used to be a bodybuilder. I have three adorable children, and I’m passionate about their dreams and goals, and I want to be there to help them achieve those goals,”

Kakashi now found himself smiling dopily at how happy and passionate Gai got while talking about his children. Something drew him in when he watched Gai enthusiastically talk, wearing his heart on his sleeve.

It was something Kakashi would have been absolutely annoyed with when he was younger, but now, he found it endearing.

Teuchi came back with their meals, placing their plates in front of them as he disappeared off into the restaurant, giving a little thumbs up at Kakashi.

“This is really good,” Gai said, talking through a bite of his spicy curry. “Like, really good,”

“Teuchi’s an amazing chef,” Kakashi said, taking a bite of his saury.

“I have a challenge for you,” Gai said, raising an eyebrow. “Only one that’s suitable enough for my rival,”

“Rival? I thought this was a date,”

“We can be rivals, and still have fun,” Gai said. “Let’s see who can drink their beer the fastest!”

“Maa, that’s a lame one. I’ll bite,”

“Loser has to pay for drinks?”

“Only if the winner pays for the food,”

“Deal,”

 

Teuchi ended up having to kick them out. Kakashi and Gai kept tying, which resulted in more drinks.

Getting kicked out of the restaurant resulted in Kakashi challenging Gai to a race around the block, to see who could run the fastest.

Gai won, which lead to him challenging Kakashi into a rock-paper-scissors game.

They kept tying.

Loud sirens interrupted their game from where they sat on a bench, a very tired looking Tenzo getting out of the car.

“You’re the worst, Kakashi,” Tenzo whined, holding open the door for him. “Get in,”

“Aww, Tenzo,” Kakashi slung an arm around him, leaning a bit too much on him. “You’re such a good partner. You’re so kind, being my designated driver,”

“I’m only doing this because Teuchi called Tsunade and threatened to ban the whole squad from the bar if I didn’t get you,” Tenzo gave him a push into the car. “C’mon, I’ll take you both home,”

“I’m fine,” Gai said, and he looked it, until he tried to take a step towards the car and nearly fell over.

“You better not throw up in the car,” Tenzo threatened. “You owe me breakfast tomorrow,”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kakashi waved, lying down in the backseat. “You’re so mean to me. Me, your senior. I thought you were the best detective we have, Tenz. You wound me,”

“Sweet talk won’t get you anywhere this time, Kashi. Get in the front so Gai can lie down,” Tenzo couldn’t fight the smile on his face. “C’mon. Let’s get you two home,”

 

Thankfully, Tenzo remembered Gai’s address from their file about the robbery, pulling up to the cute little house. The lights were off, and if Kakashi could read the dashboard clock properly, it was about midnight.

Tsunade probably had let the kids run rampant so that they would pass out in bed around eight and was probably drinking all of Kakashi’s sake while gossiping with Jiraiya.

They were probably making fun of him.

“Go walk him up to his house like a good boyfriend,” Tenzo said, giving Kakashi’s shoulder a little shove.

“Boyfriend?” Gai interjected from the backseat.

“Do you want to be my boyfriend?” Kakashi asked, feeling his heart pound in his chest.

“Yes!”

“Aww, how sweet,” Tenzo said, reaching out to squeeze Kakashi’s shoulder.

Kakashi swatted at the hand, pushing himself out of the car to come to Gai’s side.

Gai was heavy as he leaned onto Kakashi, letting Tenzo get a laugh at the two trying to stumble to his doorstep.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” Gai said. “Even if we got too drunk,”

“Maa, we can let loose every once and a while,”

“I want to do this again,” Gai said, stopping in front of his door. His eyes scanned Kakashi’s face, and he had to fight the urge to push down his mask and kiss the man in front of him. “Less drunk,”

“Less drunk,” Kakashi repeated, his hand finding Gai’s. He gave it a quick squeeze before giving him a wave. “I should get heading. The kids probably are waiting for me,”

“Goodnight, Kakashi,” Gai waved back, turning his back to open his door.

“Goodnight, Gai,” Kakashi could barely take his eyes off of Gai as he walked back towards the patrol car, missing his step and faceplanting into Gai’s lawn. 

Tenzo howled with laughter, loud enough he could clearly hear his partner nearly pissing himself over his pratfall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!


	6. Park Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kiddos all meet for the first time.

Gai woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, not ready to face the day for once. He pulled the covers up over his head, closing his eyes to block out the light that burned his eyes. He could tell that the lump curled up against his back was Lee, and that meant that Tenten was probably asleep down by his feet, while Neji slept on a nest of blankets on the floor.

His children were pretty predictable, and it comforted him to know that they were by his side.

He vaguely remembered drinking with Kakashi the night before, his memory ending shortly after the last rock-paper-scissors match. He had fun, enjoying spending the night viewing more of the handsome detective’s face. He was meaning to ask about his mask and his eye, but the time didn’t seem right when they were having so much fun running around the block.

Bringing a hand up to rub the sleep from his eyes, he noticed something green on his arm. Frowning, he squinted to get a better look at it.

It was a phone number, followed by a little drawing of a scarecrow.

Gai smiled to himself, content to spend his Saturday morning in bed for once.

 

Kurenai and Asuma left early in the morning, leaving a note pinned to the fridge by one of the ABC magnets Tenten had. Gai skimmed the note as he grabbed for the ingredients to make a big breakfast for him and the kids, ignoring Kurenai’s demand that he filled her in on his date.

She knew he would do so, anyway.

Gai grabbed for his turtle print apron, tying it around his waist. He set his favorite playlist to shuffle, letting the music fill the silence of the house as he set to making breakfast.

Soon, the kitchen was filled with the sound of sizzling bacon as Gai made bacon and eggs, worrying on the toast now. He kept thinking about Kakashi’s face, the small glimpse of what was under the mask from when they ate. He swore he saw a little mole at the corner of his mouth, and he wanted to kiss that mark over and over.

Actually, Gai just really wanted to kiss Kakashi, and kiss him a lot.

He was so absorbed in this thoughts about Kakashi he almost didn’t hear the soft footsteps coming up behind him, and it wasn’t until he felt arms wrap around him that he noticed someone was up.

“Morning, Dad!” Lee said cheerfully, looking up at Gai. “Did you have fun?”

“I had so much fun, Lee,” Gai smiled back, leaning down to pick Lee up and set him on the counter beside the stove. “Here, try this,”

He handed Lee a piece of scrambled egg at the end of his fork, watching Lee’s face as he chewed.

“It tastes amazing!”

Gai clicked off the stove, reaching above Lee to grab plates for them.

“Morning, Papa,” Tenten said sleepily, dragging her blanket in behind her. Throughout the night, her little hair buns must have come undone, her brown hair falling over her shoulders messily. Neji was behind her, his hair in a messy braid, probably Kurenai’s doing.

“Can I help?” Lee asked, hopping off the counter and holding his hands out. Gai placed the plates into his hands, watching from the corner of his eye as Neji got into the fridge to take out the orange juice. Tenten sat down at her seat, pressing her cheek against the wood of the table as she started to doze back off to sleep.

“Can you please make me some tea?” Neji asked Gai, holding his favorite teacup.

Gai reached down to gently ruffle his hair, giving him a warm smile.

“Of course, Neji,”

 

Kakashi felt like his body got hit by a truck.

Pakkun was snoring on his pillow, his dog breath hot in Kakashi’s face. Kakashi grimaced, turning over in bed, only to be met with Naruto’s foot.

Blinking awake, Kakashi sat up to see the view before him.

Naruto was sleeping upside down, snoring on his back. Bull was curled up at the end of the bed, Sakura fast asleep on him. Sasuke was sleeping with his foot in Naruto’s face, one arm sprawled across Sakura’s face. Biscuit was curled up around him, and Kakashi shook his head at the sight of the little dog-kid pile of Hatakes.

He was also lucky that Naruto and Sasuke were asleep and not screaming at one another.

Sliding out of bed, Kakashi’s first order of business was to make some coffee and find some aspirin for his headache. Thankfully, it was his day off, which meant that he could just lounge around the house in his pajamas and sleep off his hangover, if the kids allowed it.

Letting the coffee pot begin to drip, Kakashi hopped into the shower. The hot water felt so nice on his back, letting him relax.

It was exciting to have a boyfriend now. Gai was amazing, and incredibly handsome and kind. He was eager to go on another date with the man, and meet his children as well.

He vaguely remembered Gai showing him a ton of pictures of his kids during their last karate tournament, tearing up as he praised his daughter on her use of a staff and how his one son placed first, the other in second.

The door to the bathroom suddenly burst open, and hurried footsteps filled the air.

“I need to go potty!” Naruto shouted, and Kakashi pressed his forehead against the tiles, groaning.

 

Once Kakashi had coffee and aspirin in him, he resigned himself to the couch, lying down while the kids ate breakfast. Sakura had been the last to wake up, content with sleeping on Bull, who was like a heater. She was now in between her brothers, wrapped in Kakashi’s blanket as she lazily ate her cereal. Naruto and Sasuke were arguing over the remote, only to be interrupted by Kakashi’s text tone sounded.

“Get Papa his phone, please?” he asked, pointing to it on the coffee table in front of him. Sasuke reached over to grab it, handing it over to Kakashi.

Clicking the home button, Kakashi was greeted by a text from an unknown number.

_Hello, my man of destiny. Would you like to meet up for lunch later? Maybe bring the kids?_

Kakashi smiled, looking at the string of smiley emojis that followed.

“Do you want to go to the park today?” Kakashi asked, watching Naruto jump to his feet.

“Yeah!” he said, jumping up and down. “Can we play cops and robbers again?”

“Sure, kid,”

Kakashi sent out a quick reply to Gai, unable to stop himself from smiling.

“Was that your boyfriend?” Sakura asked.

Kakashi looked at her as if she had just admitted to committing a murder.

“How do you know?”

“Granny told us last night,” Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

Damn Tsunade and her gossiping. He was honestly shocked that Jiraiya hadn’t sent him a text asking for more details.

He might as well get up and get the kids dressed, then.

 

Kakashi agreed to meet Gai at the park, and as he walked closer with his kids in tow, he could see Gai playing tag with his children. He scooped up his daughter into his arms, hoisting her up onto his shoulders as she giggled uncontrollably.

“Yo, Gai,” Kakashi said, giving a wave with the hand not holding onto Naruto.

“Hello, handsome,” Gai said, turning to him with a bright smile. “Who are these little ones?”

“Go on, introduce yourselves,” Kakashi urged, giving Naruto a light nudge.

“It’s Bushy Brows!” Naruto said, jumping up. “Hi, I’m Naruto!”

“Hi,” Sakura gave a little wave from where she was hiding behind Kakashi’s legs.

“That’s Sakura,” Naruto said. “Dad says she’s shy!”

“Sasuke, say hi,” Kakashi said, looking down to Sasuke. He watched him fold his arms over his chest and turn around, a small pout on his face.

Sasuke had thrown a fit before leaving the house, since he wanted to stay home.

“Sorry, he’s a little shy around new people,” Kakashi lied. Sasuke was fine with new people, but he tended to be insulting. Little kids were great at pointing out things, and the last thing he needed was Sasuke insulting his new boyfriend.

“These are my beautiful little lotus blossoms,” Gai said, shifting Tenten off his shoulders and into his arms.

“Hi, my name is Lee!” Lee said, bouncing over excitedly to Naruto.

“Hi,” Neji waved, clinging to Gai’s hand. Naruto grabbed Lee’s hand and then went to Neji, a big smile plastered to his face.

“Hi, can we play cops and robbers?” Naruto asked.

“Uh, okay,” Neji said, letting go of Gai’s hand.

“I wanna be a cop!” Naruto announced. “Just like Dad!”

Kakashi smiled, placing a hand on Sakura’s back.

“Go on, you can play with them,” he said, watching her gaze as she went between the boys and him. “I’ll be right over there, on that bench,”

“Okay, Papa,” she said, letting go of his pantleg to run towards the boys. Sasuke reluctantly followed after her, and soon the kids were running around playing tag.

“They’re cute,” Gai said, sitting down at the bench.

“Yours are pretty cute, too,” Kakashi said, sitting next to him. Naruto announced that he and Lee were going to be the cops, and that made the rest robbers.

The two watched their kids run around chasing one another, Neji joining in on Naruto’s cop siren sounds as they pretended to arrest Sasuke.

Tenten ran over shortly afterwards, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

“Dad, I’m sleepy,” she said, sitting up on the bench next to Gai. Gai grabbed her and shifted her to sit in his lap, letting her watch the others as they ran around.

“You’re a good dad,” Kakashi said, smiling as he peeked at Tenten slowly falling asleep in his arms.

Gai smiled, holding her close.

“They’re honestly the best thing that’s happened to me,” Gai said. “How did you become a dad, Kakashi?”

Kakashi gave him a shrug.

“I dunno,” Kakashi let out a sigh, looking down at the sleeping girl in Gai’s arms, and then to his own kids. It seemed that Sasuke wanted to go on the swings, and he was bickering with Neji over which swing they should get. Sakura, Lee and Naruto were running over towards the slide, and he could hear their laughter. “One day, I get a call that my old teacher was killed, and then next thing I know, I get a baby thrust upon me,”

“Do you regret it?”

“Never,” Kakashi shook his head, suddenly wondering when they decided to start talking about deep, heavier things. “I love them all,”

“Lee’s mine,” Gai said, watching Lee catch Sakura before she could fall into the grass. “And I wanted to adopt, and I got the offer of a lifetime when Tenten came into my life. I was close with Neji’s father, and when he passed, I offered to take him,”

Sasuke stomped over to Kakashi, face beet red.

“I wanna go home,” he said, pouting.

“Maa, can’t you play with your siblings?” Kakashi said.

“No, Papa. I want to go home,” Sasuke sat next to Kakashi, arms crossed.

Kakashi sighed, pulling out his phone and unlocking it quickly. He pulled up one of the games the kids had downloaded onto his phone, the one for their favorite show, and handed it to Sasuke. Sasuke immediately quieted down and began tapping on the screen, trying to collect little snakes.

“Sasuke’s got a bit of a temper, sorry,” Kakashi apologized. Gai laughed, careful to not stir Tenten.

“He’s just passionate about his emotions,” Gai said. “There’s nothing wrong with that,”

Kakashi let out a sigh of relief. He was so glad that Gai understood.

He felt that he and Gai clicked immediately, and it was so nice to have someone in his life that completely understood him from the get-go. When Sasuke was starting to form full sentences, he had immediately called Tsunade “ugly,” and Tenzo “weird,” which was hard for Kakashi to try to explain to his coworkers why his kid suddenly was insulting them. Sasuke was difficult, since he tended to come off as rude.

Naruto came running over with Neji in tow, Lee trailing behind with Sakura.

“Dad, dad, dad,” Naruto said, bouncing with his endless energy. “Can Neji and Lee come over for dinner? Can they spend the night? Please, please, please, please, please!”

Gai let out a booming laugh, shaking his head with a smile.

“Well, maybe you should ask Gai that,” Kakashi said, glancing over at Gai.

“Maybe some other time, Naruto,” Gai said. “But we would love to,”

“It’s a date,” Kakashi said, giving Gai a quick wink.


	7. Crimson Blossoms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi gets injured on the job.

The last thing Kakashi remembered was feeling the white, searing hot pain blossoming in his shoulder, Tenzo screaming in his ear. He vaguely remembered falling to the ground, clutching his shoulder as hot crimson poured onto his fingers. Someone had been shaking his shoulder harshly, probably Genma, but the warehouse they were in was too dark to make out the features.

A drug bust gone wrong, being assigned to the task force to trail a lead Tsunade had given them. She was off in another section of the warehouse, trying to chase down the ringleader.

“I need an ambulance!” Tenzo screamed into his radio.

Kakashi passed out, panic settling in his chest. He kept thinking about his kids, about not being able to wake up to Naruto jumping on the bed and rousing the dogs. Not seeing Sasuke’s face light up when he excitedly told Kakashi about something new he learned. He wouldn’t be able to play doctor with Sakura, watching her smile as she slapped a bandaid onto his face and declared that she would be the best doctor in the world.

No more mornings spent watching cartoons in a cuddle pile on the couch.

No more nights holding his kids when they had nightmares, soothing them and losing sleep to make sure they were okay.

 

Iruka sat around the living room, a textbook on child psychology propped open. He had let Bull, Biscuit and Pakkun out before sending the kids off to bed. Naruto and Sasuke fought him on that, wanting to stay up for when Kakashi would stumble through the door, tired after a long night of chasing down leads and interviewing witness after witness. Sakura had gone to bed in her room after Iruka bribed her by saying that Kakashi would be upset if she didn’t go to bed on time, which always worked for her, but never the boys.

Naruto ended up caving in, yawning on the couch and slumping over to cuddle up with a pillow. Sasuke was still being stubborn, sitting on the floor and reading a book quietly. Iruka could see his head bob as he started dozing off out of the corner of his eye.

It would only be a matter of time before he fell asleep on the floor, and then Iruka would scoop them up and put them in bed.

Kakashi had been his friend from childhood, despite being a bit older. Iruka lived next door to Minato and Kushina, and by proxy, Kakashi, since he was over there more times than his own apartment. Throughout middle school and high school, Iruka looked up to Kakashi as some wise sage, but things changed after Kakashi’s father was killed. Minato and Kushina seemed to be the only ones who could get through to him, and had encouraged him to go into the police academy.

He had graduated shortly after Iruka graduated from high school, and when Kakashi suddenly became the guardian of a baby Naruto a year later, Iruka was more than happy to offer his help by babysitting.

The year after that, Kakashi came over to his apartment with two babies in tow, a tired look on his face.

The year after that, Kakashi came home from a long mission with a two year old in his arms, the little girl clinging to his shoulder like a lifeline.

Iruka loved the kids like little siblings. They were wonderful, and always saying something that would have him rolling with laughter. It was nice to be able to help Kakashi out, since it gave him more practice with children for his degree.

The phone rang, making Sasuke sit upright.

“I’ll get it,” he said, getting to his feet and bolting for the phone. Iruka watched him stand up on his toes to take the phone off the receiver, clicking the button to answer it.

Glancing at his laptop, Iruka frowned. Who would call the house phone at midnight?

“Gramps, go away,” Sasuke said, frowning as he answered. It must be Jiraiya. “No, Iruka’s here,”

Sasuke made a face, stomping over to Iruka and thrusting the phone into his hands before sitting next to him on the couch.

“Hello?”

“Iruka,” Jiraiya sighed. “Kakashi got shot,”

“Oh,” Iruka felt his breath freeze in his lungs, immediately looking at the two boys off to his sides.

“He’s alright, but Tsuna was screaming on the phone,” Jiraiya continued. “He’s in the hospital. Can you bring the kids here? They had to sedate him because he began screaming about them,”

“Uh, yeah,” Iruka saw his keys on the table. “Yeah, let me get Sakura and Naruto up, and I’ll be right over,”

“He’s in Room 242,” Jiraiya said. “Tenzo and Tsuna are here with him. They’ll be waiting for you,”

 

Iruka did not expect his night to go this way.

Juggling three kids, still dressed in their pajamas, through the hospital was not what he had planned to do. He expected to get some homework done, sleep on the couch until Kakashi got home, crash there for the night, have breakfast, and then go to his classes. Finals week was approaching, but this was important.

This was practically family.

Finding the room was easy, but Iruka could sense the kids’ anxiety growing.

“Thanks, kid,” Tsunade said, giving him a small wave once he came into sight. Tenzo was drinking a cup of coffee, bags under his eyes and blood caked on his hands. Sakura wiggled her way out of Iruka’s hold, rushing over to Tsunade with her arms up. Tsunade held her tightly, giving her a warm smile.

“Wanna go see your papa?” Tsunade asked, looking down at Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto nodded, taking Sasuke’s hand and following her into the room.

Kakashi was sleeping, his shoulder heavily bandaged. Tsunade was whispering into Sakura’s ear, explaining that he was being helped by the doctors and that he was fine when she noticed her growing panic.

“Hey, kiddos,” Jiraiya said, giving a wave from his seat next to Kakashi.

“Gramps!” Naruto ran to him, jumping up into his lap. Jiraiya held Naruto tightly, letting out a sigh of relief that the kids weren’t reacting as negatively as Tenzo thought they would. “Is Dad okay?”

“He’s gonna be fine, kid,” Jiraiya said. “The doctor had to make him take a nap, but he’ll just be really sore when he woke up,”

“He got hurt chasing the bad guy, right?”

“Yeah, the bad guy that Granny caught,” Jiraiya pointed a thumb over at Tsunade. “So they won’t be much trouble anymore,”

 

Kakashi let out a groan from the bed, shifting slightly. The light of the hospital room seemed blinding as he opened his good eye, wincing in the pain that bloomed from his shoulder. His whole body ached, his shoulder especially, and he couldn’t properly move his left arm.

“Papa?” Sasuke said, voice wavering. Kakashi glanced over at everyone crowding his room. Iruka looked worried, his hand gripping Sasuke’s in his. Tenzo looked exhausted, but relieved. Jiraiya and Tsunade looked equally tired, holding his other two kids.

His eye went to Sasuke, watching as tears spilled over his cheeks and he started crying.

“C’mere,” Kakashi mumbled, holding open his good arm. Sasuke tore his hand from Iruka’s and crawled up onto the bed, throwing his arms around Kakashi without regard for his injury. Pain crackled through his body like electricity from where Sasuke accidentally slapped his shoulder to hug him, but that didn’t matter. Kakashi wrapped his arm around Sasuke tightly, trying to fight the tears that came to his eyes.

He was terrified that he wouldn’t be able to be there for his kids, and a huge wave of relief came crashing down as Sasuke pressed his tear stained face into his shoulder, sobbing grossly.

Tsunade set Sakura down onto the bed, and Naruto followed suit, and Kakashi awkwardly held his children in his arms.

“I’m okay,” he insisted, pressing a small kiss to the top of Naruto’s head. “I’m okay,”

“The doctors are gonna make you feel better, right?” Sakura asked, and Kakashi nodded, trying to pull them closer to him. Sasuke clung to him with a vice-like grip, sniffling in his ear. Naruto started crying, his little shoulders shaking.

“Aw, don’t cry, kiddos,” Jiraiya said. “Your papa’s gonna be just fine. I even got him a little surprise to help him heal up faster,”

Jiraiya pulled out a copy of his newest romance novel, holding it up for Kakashi to see over the cluster of kids in his arms.

Kakashi let out a dry laugh, dropping his head back on his pillow.

“Ah, yes. Tell him to get better for your stupid novel, not his actual kids,” Tenzo mumbled, rolling his eyes. “Hey, Iruka. I need another cup of coffee. You look like you need one. C’mon,”

Tenzo and Iruka left, leaving Tsunade and Jiraiya.

“I’m giving you as much time as you need to recover,” Tsunade said. “And when you get back, you’re strictly on desk duty for at least two weeks,”

Kakashi made a noise to complain, but Tsunade glared him down.

“You have something more important than risking getting killed,” she said. “Don’t argue with me on this, Hatake, or I will make you turn in your badge,”

The kids seemed to have cried themselves out, sleeping awkwardly on Kakashi’s chest.

He looked down at his kids again, taking in a deep breath to prevent him from crying.

“Yeah, I know,” Kakashi said. “But if you fire me, then you’ll lose your best officer,”

Tsunade rolled her eyes, unable to hide her smirk.

“Whatever. You owe Iruka for all of this, big time,”


	8. Healing Process

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi's healing from his injury, and thankfully, he has the best help in the world.

Healing was a bitch.

Gai freaked out upon hearing that his boyfriend of not even two months had gotten injured on the job, a flittering mess of anxiety as he watched Kakashi’s every move. It had barely been a week since Kakashi had been shot, finally released and relaxing in the privacy of his home.

“Ow, Bull,” Kakashi whined, pushing the nose of his big dog. “Get off,”

Gai helped remove Bull from Kakashi’s bad shoulder, shooing the dog off the couch to let the tired detective relax. Kakashi winced in pain, eyes screwed shut as Gai leaned forward to gently massage his injured, stiff shoulder.

“This is what you get for throwing yourself in harms way!” Gai scolded lightly.

“If I hadn’t moved, Tenzo would have gotten hit, and-”

“Just, please, be careful,”

Gai’s warm hands seemed to work wonders as he undid the knot in Kakashi’s shoulder, careful of the still tender wound. The bullet had gone straight through, but he was lucky that he would heal with little to no issue. The doctor had advised that his shoulder might get stiff from time to time, but he was expecting a full recovery.

Gai’s kids were in class, while he offered to help Kakashi watch his rugrats. Sakura had been incredibly helpful since he got out of the hospital, always offering to run and grab the necessary supplies to change his bandages or get him anything he needed so he limited his movements. Sasuke had been nearly glued to his side, being as stubborn as usual. Naruto had deemed himself in charge of the dogs, and was currently pouring a copious amount of food into their bowls as Pakkun happily jumped around him.

It had genuinely scared Gai when Tenzo shot him a quick call to let him know that Kakashi had gotten hurt on the job. They were only dating for two months, but he had developed fond feelings for the cop. Tsunade, who had a medical background, had tasked him with being Kakashi’s caretaker until he was ready to come back to work.

It also gave him some time away from work, and a bit more time to spend with his boyfriend.

“Here you go, Mr. Gai,” Sakura said, holding a new gauze roll to Gai. “Can I help?”

“Of course, my little pink lotus,” he smiled, ruffling her hair. He hoisted her up into his lap so that they sat behind Kakashi, and Sakura gently began to remove the old bandages.

Kakashi’s shoulder was still red and the area around the bullet wound was tender, so Gai made sure to go as easy as possible as he cleaned the wound. Sakura held the gauze and medical tape in her hands, watching with awe. Thankfully, the nurse had shown him how to properly care for his injured boyfriend before he was released.

Gai applied the fresh bandages, taping off the area securely. Sakura leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to his shoulder, something Kakashi couldn’t help but chuckle at.

“All better, papa?” she asked.

“Of course, now that I have the best doctor in the world taking care of me,”

“I fed the dogs!” Naruto shouted from the kitchen, juggling three juice boxes in his hands. Sasuke shifted a bit in Kakashi’s arms, seemingly content to burrow himself into the blankets wrapped around him.

“Well, it looks like it’s almost time for me to go get Lee, Neji and Tenten,” Gai said, glancing down at his phone. “I’ll be back after karate with them, okay?”

“Of course,” Kakashi gave him a lazy smile. “We’ll probably be right here,”

“Bye, Bushy Brows!” Naruto said, holding his arms up. Gai laughed, kneeling down to give Naruto a tight hug. Sakura slid off the couch to go wiggle in between Sasuke and Kakashi, waving to Gai.

“Bye, Kakashi,” Gai said, flashing him his blinding smile.  

Once the front door clicked shut, Sasuke poked his head up.

“Can we watch Sannin Legends, Papa Kashi?” he asked, taking the juice box Naruto handed him.

“I wanna watch a princess movie,” Sakura said, frowning.

“Can we watch Toad World?” Naruto asked, plopping himself down next to Sakura.

“Maa, can’t we just agree on one thing?” Kakashi asked, taking the remote from Sasuke’s hands.

“No!” his kids shouted in unison, and Kakashi sighed.

He really hated being useless.

 

“Hey, Kakashi,” Tenzo said, shutting the front door behind him quietly. “I have some work for you, and-”

He quickly shut his mouth as he gazed into the living room. An old cowboy movie was playing, the volume turned down. Kakashi was asleep, his head bent to rest his cheek on top of Sasuke’s head. Naruto was cuddled up beside Sakura, who had an arm wrapped around Kakashi’s arm. Sasuke had his head on Kakashi’s chest, sleeping soundly.

Tenzo crept into the room, pulling a blanket over them. He set the folder for their case on the coffee table before handing the dogs some treats.

Quietly, he left the house, unable to fight the smile that came to his face.

 

The kids played until they all seemed to fall asleep in Naruto and Sasuke’s room. When Gai brought them over after he had stopped by their house after karate practice to give them a quick bath and grab their pajamas, he made dinner for everyone. Neji and Naruto had helped while Tenten and Sasuke hopped from piece of furniture to furniture pretending to be ninjas. Lee and Sakura sat and colored pictures of their families, which Kakashi had happily agreed to put up on the fridge. When they had finished, the kids crammed into Naruto and Sasuke’s room, dressed in their pajamas, and were playing with their toys.

The house quieted down over the course of the hour. Gai poked his head into their room, smiling widely at the sight.

The kids were fast asleep. Tenten and Sakura were sleeping on one bed, while Neji and Sasuke slept on the other. It looked like Naruto and Lee had ended up falling asleep halfway through playing, since there were toys strewn across the floor in between them.

His kids had only had each other until they began kindergarten, but they still had a hard time trying to make friends. Kakashi and his kids had been a pleasant surprise in his life, and he was so thankful that his gym had been broken into, or else he might never have met his man of destiny and his adorable children.

Gai stood in the doorway, unable to fight back the happy tears coming to his eyes. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and snapped a few pictures before shutting the door a bit, flicking the light off. The hall light remained on as he walked back towards the living room, Kakashi flipping through the papers Tenzo had dropped off.

“What’re you reading?” he asked, sitting down. Kakashi’s hand found his, giving it a light squeeze.

“A lead on one of our cold cases,” Kakashi said, sighing. 

“I’m sure your coworkers are doing fine,”

“I just wish I was there. It’s my case,” Kakashi shook his head. “Wanna watch something?”

“Of course,” Gai unlaced their fingers to wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him closer.

“Can we watch this?” Kakashi asked, pointing to his favorite romantic comedy.

“Like I could deny you,”

Gai noticed the quick smile Kakashi gave before pressing play, his eyes locking onto the cute little beauty mark on his face.

His chest filled with adoration, and without thinking, Gai leaned down and captured Kakashi’s lips with his.

Gai’s lips were soft and plush, while Kakashi’s were chapped. Kakashi returned the kiss eagerly, bringing his hand up to cradle Gai’s face.

Gai expected their first kiss to be filled with intense passion. He expected fireworks, his heart to be racing, for his whole life to change.

Their kiss was slow and sweet, and calm. It felt natural, like fate wanted them to kiss. It felt safe, and gentle.

Gai was filled with unbelievable joy, and Kakashi was content, happy to let his guard down with someone he trusted.

Pakkun jumped up in between them, breaking their kiss. He grunted, wiggling with his desire to be pet by his owner.

Gai and Kakashi laughed as Pakkun got pet, Biscuit coming over to curl up by their feet. Bull, the ever loyal nanny dog, padded his way down the hall towards the kids.

“If every night could be like this, I’d be one happy man,” Kakashi said softly, his eye glued to Pakkun’s little face. He felt his face flush once he realized that he admitted his thought aloud, but Gai pressed a kiss to his cheek, fighting to blink the tears starting to form in his eyes.

“I think I would be, too,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, their first kiss!


	9. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi goes back to work and gets a shock.

“Papa Kashi, I want you to stay home,”

“Please, Dad?”

“Sasuke, Naruto,” Kakashi sighed, shouldering his bag. “You know I have to get back to work. You’re gonna spend some time with Iruka,”

Iruka gave him a small smile from across the kitchen table, munching on his cereal.

“Kids, your dad has to go back to work,” Iruka tried. “Wanna bake some cookies with me later?”

“Yeah!” Sakura nodded. Kakashi felt relieved knowing that she was getting more comfortable with Kakashi leaving.

It was Sasuke and Naruto he needed to worry about.

“I want you to stay home,” Sasuke said, tugging on Kakashi’s shirt sleeve.

“Kids, I have to go,” Kakashi said. “Can I get a hug goodbye?”

“But I want you to stay,” Naruto blubbered, tears starting to fall down his chubby cheeks. Sasuke seemed two seconds away from a tantrum, and Kakashi was forever grateful that Sakura just watched her brothers with a puzzled look, as if not understanding why they were crying.

“Maa, boys,” Kakashi scooped them up in his arms, pressing a kiss to their heads. “It’ll be okay. I’ll call you when I get lunch, and when I’m coming back, okay?”

“Okay,” Naruto sobbed, nodding into his shirt. Kakashi grimaced, hoping he wasn’t rubbing his snotty nose onto his shirt.

“Fine,” Sasuke huffed, pushing out of Kakashi’s grasp.

The kids stood in the doorway with Iruka, waving Kakashi off as he backed out of the driveway. Naruto was holding onto Sasuke as he tearfully waved.

He felt a pang of guilt in his chest, knowing that they just wanted him to be home and safe. The last time he left them for work, they were roused from their sleep because he had gotten shot. He understood, but he really needed to get back to work.

His phone lit up from the cupholder, a text from Tenzo.

_New sus. Come asap._

 

“Welcome back, Hatake,” Izumo greeted, handing Kakashi a cup of celebratory coffee. “Enjoy your time off?”

“It was pleasant,” Kakashi admitted. He loved being able to spend more time with his kids, but he was glad to have some semblance of normalcy. He was ready to jump back in on their drug case, especially with the news Tenzo had given him that morning over a quick text.

Tsunade came out of her office, looking exhausted.

“Thank god you’re back,” she said. “This case is killing me,”

Kakashi hummed in agreement, setting his bag down at his desk. His shoulder felt a bit stiff, but he was no longer in any pain.

“We got an arrest on this kid this morning,” Tsunade filled him in, motioning him to follow her. “Tenzo has been sitting with him for the past hour, but he hasn’t said anything. He said he specifically wanted to speak to you,”

“Does he have a lawyer present?” Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow as they made their way to the interrogation room.

“He’s on the way,” Tsunade rolled her eyes. “And you’ll never guess who it is,”

Kakashi made a face, knowing exactly who she was talking about.

Hiashi Hyuga was a notoriously good defense lawyer. He never lost his cases, and he was known for freeing corrupt politicians and in two cases, murderers. He was a prick in general, who was difficult to work with, and hated police officers with a passion.

Kakashi also now had a personal bias against him, remembering what Gai had told him once while they were cuddled up on the couch. His brother, Hizashi, had died of mysterious circumstances. He appeared to have shot himself, but there was no gunpowder on his hands, and his prints weren’t even on the gun. It was unexpected, and when it made headlines, incredibly suspicious. Knowing that Hiashi refused to even look at his own nephew and place him in a foster home immediately after the young boy had lost his father solidified Kakashi’s distain for the man.

Gai had told him the horrible things he had overheard Hiashi say about Neji, tears in his eyes as he vented his frustration. Neji was a genius and was going to grow up into an extraordinary man because of Gai. It was something that made Kakashi fall even more for him.

Kakashi let himself into the interrogation room, accessing the two. Tenzo looked tired, having just arrived himself an hour ago, and the displeased look on his face told Kakashi that he’d been trying to get something out of the kid and hadn’t had much success.

The kid, who actually looked like he should be in school, was cuffed to the table. He was pouting, his long blond hair tousled a bit, probably from his arrest. Kotetsu had said he tried running, and the pair had to tackle him to the ground to get him. Wide blue eyes flitted around the room, as if searching for any escape.

“So, I heard you wanted to speak to me?” Kakashi said, pulling out the chair beside Tenzo. “Would you like to wait until after your lawyer comes?”

“Yeah,” the kid rolled his eyes. “I’m not dumb. I’ve seen plenty of cop shows, hm,”

“Deidara, huh?” Kakashi said, glancing between his file and the teenager in front of him.

His record showed that he was seventeen, and had a penchant for arson and explosions. This wasn’t his first arrest, but Jiraiya had gotten a tip from an informant, and had called Tsunade at three in the morning to let her know that one of the members of the drug gang they were looking for was going to try to place car bombs on several of the officer’s patrol cars.

Izumo and Kotetsu were there to grab him, and he’d been sitting since five.

“What about it, hm?” Deidara asked.

The door opened, and Hiashi walked in, the air of disgust following him. He shot a glare to Kakashi and Tenzo, who gave a small wave.

“Have you been pestering my client?” he asked, moving to sit next to Deidara.

“No, not at all, sir,” Tenzo said, faking a smile. “We were just waiting for you to get here,”

Kakashi was grateful for his mask, since it hid his scowl.

“Now that your lawyer is here,” Kakashi began. “What do you want to tell me?”

Deidara gave him a smirk, leaning back in his chair.

“I have information that I think you might want to know,” he said. “But, in exchange for that information, I want a deal,”

“You’re in no position to bargain right now,” Tenzo snorted. “You tried to kill several officers this morning alone, and we know you’re working for the Akatsuki,”

Deidara’s smirk disappeared, forgetting the red cloud tattooed at the base of his neck.

All members of the Akatsuki, Konoha’s police force’s worst nightmare, had that tattoo.

“Whatever,” Deidara said. “Can you cut me a deal or not?”

“Your chances aren’t looking too good,” Kakashi said, and from the corner of his eye he noticed Hiashi smirk. “Any information you give us would possibly make us a bit more lenient when it comes to your sentencing,”

Deidara looked over at Hiashi, the two sharing a knowing look. Tenzo bit his cheek, not liking the apparent closeness between the two already. Hiashi had once defended an Akatsuki member by the name of Juzo shortly before the member was killed, and he had gotten him cleared of all charges of grand larceny.

The Akatsuki was so secretive and lucrative that there was hardly an evidence to truly convict most members, but they assumed there was at least ten prominent members, all within a close circle.

Deidara, however, could easily be convicted for the car bombs, which took two whole bomb squads to dismantle.

“I have information that would be beneficial to you, personally, Officer Hatake,” Deidara said, sitting confidently. “You never solved the Uchiha murders, right?”

Kakashi clenched his fists.

“I remember seeing that on the news,” Deidara continued. “So sad, that a mother and father were murdered in cold blood, while their baby son was sleeping in the same room. You could never find a murder weapon, or any suspects, yeah?”

“What’s your point?”

“I know for a fact who did it,” Deidara said coolly. “And I know where the weapon is,”

“Enlighten us, then,” Tenzo said. “If you’re all-knowing about this cold case,”

“There’s an abandoned mansion about a two hour drive from here,” he said. “In the main hall, you’ll find a katana. It has a fan on it, and I know for a fact that it’s the Uchiha family’s crest, from way back when. The katana was passed down from generation to generation, and it suddenly went missing about a day or so before the murders,”

Kakashi knew of the katana. It had been the first thing Itachi had thought of being the murder weapon, but without the katana, the suggestion had been scrapped. Itachi had been taught how to wield it around the age of five and was a skilled swordsman.

“Doesn’t it seem suspicious, that the eldest son was out with friends that night? That the only one spared was the baby, hm?” Deidara smirked.

Kakashi felt his blood run ice cold in his veins.

“Itachi Uchiha murdered his parents. He’s in the Akatsuki,”


	10. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pictures hold precious memories.

Pictures line the walls of the Hatake household, and several photo albums stored on the bookshelf in the living room.

Kakashi’s favorite picture, if he had to pick, resides on a shelf lining the walls of the living room. It was of the first Christmas he had with all of his kids. Sakura is excitedly hugging the doll she still kept, Naruto is happily holding up a giant stuffed fox, and Sasuke’s mouth is open in awe at the toy robot he got. Iruka snapped the photo, since he spends the holidays with them, and there’s a tired but content Kakashi sitting in the background under the tree, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and lazily petting Bull in the other.

Naruto’s favorite picture, which resides on the wall in the hallway, is of his parents. Minato and Kushina are holding a newborn Naruto, wide smiles plastered to their faces. Kushina had long, beautiful red hair that Naruto loves to look at. Minato has a warm smile that Naruto wishes he could have seen in person. Kakashi is sandwiched in between them, looking a little disgruntled at being dragged into the family picture. Minato and Kushina had essentially taken him in after the death of his father, and Kakashi always rolled his eyes at the picture. Naruto thinks his parents look cool, and he wishes that he could have met them.

Sasuke’s favorite picture is a picture that he keeps framed on his nightstand. It’s a picture of his family, which he doesn’t remember, but Kakashi made it a point to let him know who his family was and what they were like. Itachi, eighteen and fresh from high school, is holding him. He was a few months old at the time, and he’s tugging on a loose strand of his older brother’s inky black strands that are identical to his. His mother has a kind smile as she tries to unfurl Sasuke’s hand. His father has his eyes closed, and from what Sasuke knows, he was a stern man, but he has a soft smile around his family.

Sakura’s favorite picture sits in a photo album, the one that has some cheesy floral pattern on it that Kakashi had been gifted as a joke by Kotetsu. The picture is of their whole family, after Kakashi had finalized the adoption for her. She’s in his arms, smiling up at him. Naruto is clinging to Iruka’s arm, and Sasuke is standing with a scowl, since he wanted to take the picture for them. Izumo, who snapped the picture, ended up somehow wrangling Pakkun, Bull, and Biscuit as well, the dogs sitting in front. It’s their first family photo where they’re all in the picture, and she thinks it’s a nice picture.

Iruka’s favorite picture is a picture of Naruto from his first birthday. He was weary to try eating the cake, and hesitantly put his mouth on the frosting. There’s a companion photo of Naruto, face smeared in red frosting, a chubby fist clutching a chunk of cake. Jiraiya is in the background of the picture with Tsunade, the two laughing. Iruka took the picture himself, and it’s one of his fondest memories, since it was when he finally felt like he had a family that he belonged to.

 

Alternatively, Gai takes a million photos, documenting almost every aspect of his children’s lives.

Lee’s favorite picture is one of them all at the beach, dressed in their swim gear. Lee had an inflatable duck tube around his middle, and he’s posing for Asuma, who snapped the picture. Tenten is smiling, holding a beach ball. Neji is next to Gai, who is lathering him up in sunscreen, since Neji tended to burn fast.

Tenten’s favorite picture is one of her brothers. Neji looks unamused, and Lee is trying to goad him into a race. Gai snapped the picture after their first karate tournament, the two dressed in stark white karate gi. It captures the two perfectly, Lee’s face lit up in a smile while Neji is in the middle of rolling his pale eyes.

Neji’s favorite picture is a picture of his father. He’s simply standing, posing for Gai, who took the picture during one of their hikes. Hizashi and Gai were rock-climbing friends, and Neji thinks his dad looks cool standing atop a rock, looking out at the vast landscape that seems to blend into a blur of green.

Gai’s favorite picture is of his kids, which comes to no surprise. Tenten is in the middle, and Neji has an arm wrapped around her shoulder, and Lee is holding her hand. Gai took the picture right after they had gone out to the park to celebrate Neji being adopted. They’re all smiling genuinely happy smiles, and it makes his heart soar with happiness when he looks at it. He knows that his father, who passed when he was young, is happy of the father he has become.


	11. Confusion and Clarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to get complicated, but at least they have each other.

“You’re lying,” Kakashi hissed through his teeth, slamming his hands down on the table.

No.

_No._

It couldn’t be true.

“I was told so by another member,” Deidara said. “And I want that slimy bastard locked up. I’ll give you info on Orochimaru, one of our former members, if you let me go free,”

“I think the fuck _not_ ,” Kakashi stood, ready to leave.

Tenzo placed a hand on his wrist, grounding him.

“Kakashi,” he whispered.

Kakashi took a deep breath through his nose, sitting back down.

“Tell us more about this Orochimaru,”

 

Orochimaru turned out to be one of Jiraiya and Tsunade’s former childhood friends, much to their shock. He was a scientist and had worked as a mortician at the hospital. He suddenly disappeared one day, not showing up for work. Deidara supplied that the Akatsuki worked in groups of two, and Orochimaru had been partnered with Deidara’s current partner before his defection. The group was mad at him, but he apparently was nowhere to be found.

Finding said abandoned mansion was easy, and with quick connections to the police force there, it was raided the next day.

Kakashi’s heart sank when he found the ivory white katana, the Uchiha fan carved into the wooden handle.

Blood was still caked onto the blade.

 

“I can’t believe this,” Jiraiya said, downing his shot of whiskey before motioning for Teuchi to give him another one. “Oro?”

“Yup,” Tsunade said glumly, finishing her third round of sake.

Kakashi sat in the booth with them, Tenzo happily drinking beside him. His stomach felt like he had swallowed lead, the beer he was nursing tasting more like poison.

“I don’t believe Deidara when he says Itachi killed his parents,” Jiraiya continued. “That kid loved his family so much,”

“It makes sense, I suppose,” Izumo said, making his way over with drinks for Kotetsu and himself. “Sasuke was the only survivor, and he was untouched. Nothing other than the sword was taken, right?”

Kakashi nodded, swallowing down his beer to prevent the lump forming in his throat to give way to his emotions.

“He learned it from Orochimaru,” Tsunade shook her head. “Maybe he was lying?”

“He did just disappear,” Kotetsu said.

“Can we talk about something else?” Kakashi interrupted. “Jiraiya, write a new novel. I finished the one you gave me,”

Jiraiya let out a hearty laugh, slamming his tumbler down onto the table.

“Let me get some more research done,” he said, and the table erupted with laughter.

 

The week seemed to drag on forever. It was Sunday when Kakashi was pulled into the station and interviewed Deidara. Monday, they raided the abandoned house. Tuesday, Iruka got sick, so the kids had to spend his shift at the station, giving Izumo and Kotetsu plenty of exercise as they played hide and seek with Naruto and Sakura while Kakashi sat at his desk with Sasuke in his lap, trying to make calls. Wednesday was when Tenzo and Kakashi questioned witness after witness, getting nowhere. Thursday was when they got called in for a domestic violence dispute, and Tenzo got punched in the face, resulting in a black eye.

 

Fridays was beginning to be their safe haven for the week. Gai had grown busy at the gym, now offering himself as a personal trainer, and Kakashi had been chasing after dead end leads non-stop. They alternated which house they stayed at, but like clockwork, Friday nights were spent eating dinner together and usually watching a movie before falling asleep to wake up to a big breakfast Saturday morning.

“Hello, handsome,” Kakashi said, slipping his scarf down to press a quick kiss to Gai’s cheek. Gai hip-checked him lightly, smiling fondly as his boyfriend peered over his shoulder. “Making something good?”

“I’m making baked eggplant,”

“For me?”

“Of course. Only the best for my man of destiny,”

Placing a hand on the small of Gai’s back, Kakashi moved around him to reach for a glass. Gai’s kitchen was warm and cozy, just small enough for it to feel cramped with more than three people in the kitchen.

“Where are the kids? It’s eerily quiet,” Kakashi mused.

“In the treehouse,” Gai let out a small laugh. “Apparently, it’s a ‘no adults allowed’ kind of meeting,”

Kakashi found himself rolling his eyes, knowing that it was probably Naruto who proposed that idea. He wrapped his arms around Gai’s waist, pressing his lips against his shoulder. Music flowed through the speaker connected to Gai’s phone, the soft warble of a man crooning about his lover filling the air.

Gai set down his knife, turning around to face Kakashi. Without warning, he placed a hand on his hip and grasped his hand in his, leading in a slow dance.

Kakashi pressed his face into Gai’s shoulder, feeling the stress of his week melt away. It had been emotionally draining, looking through old files that brought up sore memories. Gai’s warm hand resting on his hip and the hand clasped tightly in his was a pleasure that Kakashi hadn’t really considered before he met Gai.

He would have been content living the rest of his life as a single father of three kids and three dogs, but Gai changed that. Kakashi found himself daydreaming at work about spending holidays together, sometimes doodling little caricatures of Gai flexing in the margins of his notepad.

Gai, as Asuma always pointed out, was distracted whenever he thought of Kakashi at work, a happy smile plastered to his face. Gai’s heart nearly exploded from his chest when he saw Lee demand a piggy back ride from Kakashi, his boyfriend humoring his son and carrying him around when they had visited the aquarium a few weeks back. Seeing the love Kakashi’s children had for their father warmed his heart, and knowing that his own children were happily enjoying their company made it worth it.

Gai twirled Kakashi around, nearly bumping into the kitchen table as he did so. The two laughed, the last few notes of the song petering out before changing to an upbeat pop song.

Kakashi grabbed Gai’s face in his, pulling him in for a kiss.

Fridays were now Gai’s favorite days.


	12. Verdict

The day of the trial comes as quickly as it can, leaving Konoha’s police department full of doubt and worry. Hiashi strode into the courtroom like the pompous ass he is, settling down beside his client.

The news reporters crammed themselves outside, waiting for the verdict. It was a highly anticipated trial, as was every trial Hiashi was the lawyer for.

Kakashi, Tenzo, and Tsunade stood outside the courtroom, waiting patiently. Izumo and Kotetsu were called as witnesses, and they looked terrified going in.

The trial lasted several hours.

The press comes alive once they all step out onto the marble steps of the courthouse.

Hiashi’s face is twisted into a deep scowl.

Konoha’s police force lets out cheers of finally knocking the lawyer down a peg, and their first successful arrest connected to the Akatsuki.

 

Kakashi still was riding on the high of successfully getting one member of the Akatsuki arrested, even though it was on a completely different charge that the ones they originally wanted to. He would be locked up for only two years, but it was still enough for the moment.

“Here, drinks are on me!” Tsunade cheered, holding up her glass of wine.

Tenzo downed his shot in support, Kakashi laughing into his beer.

“Good job, my favorite detective,” Gai said, pressing a big kiss to his cheek.

“Man, you should have seen Hiashi’s face when the verdict was read,” Izumo said, swaying slightly. “He looked like you just told him his dog died,”

“Nah, he looked like he was going to strangle the judge,” Kotetsu chimed in.

“Good job, you guys,” Teuchi said, handing out drinks. The squad had decided to come to their usual pub to celebrate, much to the owner’s joy. He did so on the promise to cut Kakashi and Gai off at four drinks, which the pair agreed to.

Tsunade seemed busy drinking her bodyweight, Jiraiya by her side as he drank slowly. Kakashi watched as Jiraiya placed an arm around her to steady her, helping her off her stool to stand for her usual speech about teamwork.

“It’s nice for you to join us, Gai,” Tenzo said, voice slurring a tad. “’Kashi over here won’t shut up about you,”

“Oh, really?”

“If I have to hear about how handsome you look when you lift weights, I might gag,” Tenzo made a face despite the couple’s snickering. “C’mon, Kakashi. You might as well write a romance novel about him. You’ve got plenty of examples,”

“Maa, I’m no good at writing. I’ll leave that to the expert,” Kakashi leaned back into Gai’s arms. “Besides, Jiraiya’s busy getting some material for his novel right now,”

Following the officer’s gaze, Tenzo turned around to find Tsunade nestled into Jiraiya’s side, his arm wrapped around her waist. She made some sort of poor joke, leaning into him as she laughed, and he pressed a small kiss to the top of her head.

“Ugh, when are they going to get married?” Izumo whined. “I’m so tired of them doing that weird ‘we’re not together but we kinda are’ bs. It’s like high school drama,”

Kakashi knew why. He knew Tsunade was probably still hurting from the death of her fiancé, who died in the line of duty years ago. She had been studying to be a doctor when it happened, causing her career path to shift drastically as she opted to take his spot on the force, quickly climbing the ranks. She had just become their captain when he had joined, but he remembered Itachi one time going in to hand her a report and having to duck before he got hit in the head with a paperweight because she was having one of her moments of weakness and didn’t want anyone to see her cry.

Over the years, it seemed like she had coped with it better, Jiraiya always a constant by her side. He had been her best friend since childhood, and when he was an active officer, he had been her partner, always watching her back.

He still did, even as a private investigator, working from the comfort of his home as he wrote trashy romance novels.

“I think we’re going to get going,” Gai said, helping Kakashi to his feet. “Congrats again on your successful case!”

Getting a round of goodbyes, Kakashi and Gai made their way to Tsunade.

“Oh, Kakashi,” she said, freeing herself from Jiraiya’s hold to reach out and pinch the officer’s cheeks. “You’ve got such a sweet boyfriend. Bring him around more!”

“Yes, captain,” Kakashi replied cheekily. “Have a good night,”

“You too,” she winked. “Go home and have some fun,”

Kakashi burrowed his face into his scarf, thankful to have something cover the blush creeping to his face. Gai looked equally flustered, grabbing his hand and leading the way.

 

Gai woke up the next morning with Kakashi cuddling up against his back, his face pressed to his shoulder. He felt lazy kisses pressed to the bare skin there, relaxing under Kakashi’s touch.

It didn’t hurt to listen to Tsunade’s advice every once and while, he supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit short since this week was a little busy for me. Thank you for reading!


	13. Stress and Relax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today just isn't Gai's day.

Gai prided himself for the fact that he was a passionate young man who had a heart of gold. Kakashi certainly liked to point out that fact whenever they were together, holding each other close as Gai pressed another kiss to his beauty mark. He was levelheaded, which had made him popular when he had done bodybuilding. He was a patient father, and had even managed to keep his cool when Tenten had taken the scissors from the bathroom shortly after her third birthday, crudely cutting her bangs up to her forehead, and then doing the same to a sleeping Lee. It took a lot to anger the man, but today seemed to be the day that his fuse would run short.

It began with Kakashi brushing off his phone call that morning, mumbling something about getting no sleep the past two days due to Sasuke having a bout of nightmares and then the kids getting sick on top of it all. Kakashi sounded exhausted on the phone, and in the background, he could faintly hear Naruto and Sakura crying about something. He had hung up the phone afterwards, not even saying a goodbye.

After that, he ushered the kids off to school, giving his beloved children big hugs before sending them off. Tenten had informed him that she was too old to be babied, and no longer wanted goodbye kisses. Neji had woken up in a foul mood, giving everyone what Asuma had dubbed his “old man scowl,” his friend joking that his son acted more like a curmudgeon than an actual child.

“Bye,” he said, turning to walk into the classroom without a spare glance. Tenten waved goodbye, following suit.

“Goodbye, Dad! I love you so much!” Lee said, clinging to Gai. Gai smiled, pressing a big kiss to Lee’s cheek.

“Keep an eye on your brother and sister for me, okay, Lee?” he asked, watching his son frantically nod. “I love you all more than anything,”

“Bye, Dad,” Lee waved goodbye, going to meet Kurenai.

Unease nestled in the pit of his stomach as Gai walked down the halls of the elementary school, popping a mint into his mouth to hope to calm the nervous storm.

 

Work went by smoothly as Gai focused on his squats, losing himself to the music pouring in through his headphones and counting his sets.

At least, it went smooth until Asuma accidentally dropped a hundred pound weight onto his foot, swearing up a storm. Gai hadn’t intended for an emergency hospital visit, having to sit through seeing Asuma’s foot swell black and blue.

 

Kakashi had ignored his texts throughout the day, which was usual for when he was at work with the force. However, he was off today, he usually would send Gai pictures of his dogs. The thought put Gai a bit in a sour mood, trying to brighten up his day as he drove back to the school to pick up the kids. One highlight of his day was picking the kids up from school to hear all about their days, bombarding him with random tidbits.

However, he wasn’t prepared to see the sleek black luxury car parked in the spot next to him, fighting the scowl coming to his face.

Approaching Kurenai’s classroom, he saw Hiashi Hyuga standing with his daughter hiding behind his legs as Hiashi talked down to Kurenai.

“I feel that you’re simply not challenging them enough,” the lawyer said. “I don’t care where you got your degree, you need to give them more engaging material,”

“In all honesty, Mr. Hyuga,” Kurenai said, pretending to smile. “The children are five. If you want your daughter to learn more complex material, I feel like you should do that at home with her,”

Gai felt proud watching Kurenai, and she seemed relieved to see Gai.

“Gai, I’ll go let the kids know you’re here for them,” she said, slipping away from Hiashi.

“Gai,”

“Hiashi,”

The silence was deafening, until Lee ran from the classroom, Tenten hot on his heels as they rushed Gai for a hug.

“Hello, my wonderful children!” Gai said, trying to pretend that Hiashi wasn’t glaring him down. “I missed you all,”

“Hi, Dad!” Lee said excitedly. “I have to much to tell you!”

“I got to be line leader!” Tenten jumped up and down.

“Hi, Dad,” Neji said quietly, and Gai reached out to take his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“I can see you’re obviously not pushing them to their full potential,” Hiashi said, his pale eyes scanning the family. “As expected from you,”

“What do you mean by that, Hiashi?” Gai asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Children can only become great if their parents are great,” Hiashi said, his gaze going to Lee and Tenten. “I’m just stating that maybe that’s why my Hinata will become someone important, unlike you,”

Gai felt anger burn hot in his soul. He could easily take Hiashi in a fight. The man looked like he barely worked out, and Gai was built like a tank. However, Gai hated unnecessary violence, and Hiashi would find some way to ruin his life by use of the law if he ever did enact on his anger.

Gai would just have to settle with complaining about him to Kakashi and the others on the force, who had the displeasure of meeting the man and having to deal with him interfering with their work.

“I can see you’re obviously still an insufferable jerk. My children will be greater than me someday, and I’ll make sure of it, because they’re _my_ kids,” Gai quipped back. He felt Neji press up to his side a bit more. Letting out a sigh, Gai turned to Kurenai, who had returned to see her friend off. “Bye, Kurenai! Make sure Asuma keeps his foot up to help the swelling go down,”

“I will,” she waved, watching the family leave down the hall, a baffled Hiashi standing with his daughter he hardly acknowledged.

 

Once the kids got home, Gai pulled out his favorite comfort tools: curry and the blanket fort.

Whenever he was upset as a little kid, his dad would build them a pillow and blanket fort after a big curry dinner, then the two would curl up in there, read books, talk, or watch TV. It had always calmed him, and it was something Gai tended to resort to after a really stressful day, especially since his dad passed shortly after Lee was born.

“Can I help?” Neji asked, holding his favorite blanket as he watched Gai maneuver the furniture in their living room.

“Of course, Neji,” he offered him a blanket, watching Neji drape it over the back of the armchair. “How was school today?”

“It was okay,” he said, crawling into the fort to rearrange the pillows.

“Did…” Gai paused, mulling over how he wanted to bring up the topic. “Do you play with your cousin, sometimes, at recess?”

“I sit next to her in class,”

“Is she nice?”

“She’s really quiet,”

“Is she nice?”

“She talks weird,” Neji paused, thinking for the word. Gai watched as if he could see the gears turning. “She stutters?”

“That’s the right word, yes,”

“Okay,”

“Can we do popcorn, Dad?” Tenten asked, coming into the living room in her nightgown with her stuffed turtle.

“I want some popcorn, too,” Lee said, watching as Gai put the finishing touch on the pillow fort.

Gai let out a laugh, feeling the awkward encounter with Hiashi and the issue with Asuma melting away.

“Let me put on my pajamas, then we’ll make popcorn and watch the movie,” he said, watching his kids’ faces light up.

Their smiles made the day worth it.

 

Gai was jostled awake but the feeling of his phone vibrating. The time on his tv stand let him know that he had only been asleep for probably an hour, the kids falling asleep right after the movie finished. Tenten had somehow managed to wrap herself around his left arm, Neji nestled into his side beside her. Lee slept with his head on top of Gai’s chest, his right arm resting on his back. Reaching blindly with his right arm, he grabbed his phone.

_Hey, sorry for not reaching out much today. Naruto got the stomach bug and I spent most of my day tending to these little cuties._

Attached was a selfie of Kakashi’s kids all in a pile in Sakura’s room, the two boys cuddled up around their sister as they slept. Kakashi was in the lower corner of the picture, looking worse for wear.

Gai found himself smiling at the sight of his handsome boyfriend, before raising his arm to snap a picture of him and his kids.

_It’s alright! Get some sleep, Kakashi. You need your rest, too! :)_

He quickly sent the picture to Kakashi before making it his background on his phone, turning his phone on silent and letting himself fall asleep in the comfort of their pillow fort, his children safely in his arms and away from the evils of the world, such as nasty lawyers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pillow forts make everything better if your day is really stressful.  
> Thank you for reading! :)


	14. When September Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> September is Kakashi's least favorite month.  
> A little bit of background, and memories of the past.

Sasuke doesn’t know why his dad gets so sad around his birthday. Birthdays are a happy time, in his three year old mind. His dad always makes sure to bake a cake for them and make the day special.

 

Kakashi hates September.

It may be his birth month, but it holds two awful memories for him.

 

Kakashi drummed his fingers on his notebook, listening to Mr. Namikaze drone on about law. It was his last class of the day, and as much as he genuinely enjoyed Mr. Namikaze, his enthusiasm and kindness, Kakashi really just wanted to go home, cuddle up under his blankets with Bull, and nap until his dad got home from his shift at the station.

Sakumo was his hero. Ever since he was little, Kakashi remembered fondly his dad showing up for class to talk about his job as a K9 officer, helping people and enforcing the law. Sakumo was greatly loved by the public. He had a kind aura around him, one that made people want to talk to him. Criminals obviously hated him, but mainly for the reason that he was simply doing his job. If it were up to Sakumo, he had confided in Kakashi, he would try to help ever single person he helped lock up rather than have them sit in a cell.

There was a knock on the door to the classroom, and when Minato opened the door, two officers stepped in.

“Kakashi Hatake?”

Kakashi felt his heart drop to his stomach.

 

Killed in the line of duty, jumping in front of his partner to take a bullet. The bullet fatally embedded itself into his heart, and he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The funeral was a public affair, with the entire force in attendance, dressed in their uniforms. When the news had gotten to Minato and Kushina, they insisted on coming to be there for Kakashi, Kushina’s warm arms wrapped around him tightly as she cried quietly into his back, Kakashi’s eyes fixed on the coffin that was being lowered into the ground. A firm hand kept him grounded, Minato’s fingers clenching onto his young student to let him know that he had people there who cared for him.

Kakashi refused to cry, steadying his breath to try to keep calm. He easily could have, the sudden downpour could easily mask the tears, but he found that he couldn’t.

He refused to do a eulogy, instead listening to his father’s fellow officers share stories about him.

“There was one time, Sakumo and I were on patrol,” Jiraiya began, eyes on the cop. “And he stopped our car, insisting on getting out and helping this little old lady across the street. We called him ‘boy scout’ for a week straight, but little things like that show his true character. It shows what a kind man he truly was,”

“Sakumo always got us laughing,” Tsunade said, wiping the corner of her eyes with a tissue. “And he always listened, no matter how busy he may have been. I’m really going to miss him,”

“He died honorably,” Fugaku Uchiha, chief of police, concluded. “And we’re forever grateful for his service to this community as an officer,”

Kakashi watched as the funeral unwound, people dispersing throughout the crowd. He watched Tsunade and Jiraiya walk off towards a man with long black hair, holding an umbrella out to them. He watched the chief of police walk off with his family, a solemn look on his face. Officer by officer began to leave as dirt began to get shoveled onto the casket, Kakashi rooted in place.

“Come on, Kakashi,” Kushina said, unwilling to let go of him. “Let’s get out of the rain,”

Kakashi could only nod as the Namikaze-Uzumaki’s pulled him off towards their car, away from the wooden box containing what was his father.

 

Kakashi woke the next morning, his eyes swollen from crying all night. Bull was curled up by the end of his bed, keeping his feet warm. Someone was holding his hand, and when he blinked, he saw long red hair falling like a curtain over Kushina’s face from where she knelt on the floor, her hand in his. Her grip was strong for someone asleep, but it felt comforting.

Minato and Kushina insisted on him staying at their house, letting him bring his dog. Getting home from the funeral, Minato made a light meal before they all settled down for bed.

Being alone in a dark, empty room with just his father’s dog, Kakashi let himself cry.

And he cried, and cried, until he couldn’t breathe and was gasping for air.

He remembered warm arms wrapping around him, hoisting him into a sitting position. He remembered sobbing into a shoulder while soft humming filled the air, and Minato bringing him a glass of cold water, sitting beside him with a hand on his back while Kakashi sipped at the water. Kushina gently rocked him back and forth, humming a tune that seemed too familiar, yet so foreign.

“It’s okay, Kakashi,” Minato had whispered. “It’s okay to feel sad. I know it hurts. I wish I could take the pain from you, but you’ll learn to endure it, even if it feels unbearable now,”

All Kakashi remembered before falling asleep was the pain in his sinuses and in his chest, feeling gross and oddly content at getting all the tears out.

“Morning, Kakashi,” Minato’s soft voice broke the air, poking his head in the door. “Would you like something to eat?”

It was relieving that it was a Saturday, and he could get some extra sleep.

Kakashi shook his head, stomach arguing.

“I’ll make some pancakes, okay?” Minato glanced over at his wife, a smile on his face. “Come out when you’re ready. Take as much time as you need,”

 

Kakashi was almost a year fresh out of the academy, about to be twenty two, when the chief of police is murdered in his home.

They had been found in their son’s bedroom, their infant son sleeping in his crib. It looked as if Fugaku had tried to protect his wife, shielding her from the blade that had pierced both their chests. The weapon, probably the heirloom katana that had been resting on the mantle, was now missing.

Their eldest had found them, coming home from studying at the library for his college entrance exams only to find his whole life upended.

Kakashi attended the funeral, because he had to as a member of the force. The double funeral for him and his wife was a tearful event, having made headlines. The press was obnoxiously snapping photos, the flashes from their cameras and the click of the shutters deafening.

Tsunade, the new chief of police, was standing at the forefront of it all, dealing with reporters shouting awful things about the former chief and dealing with a bombardment questions about the murder case. Jiraiya was close by, her emotional support during it all.

It seemed ironic that on the day of his father’s funeral, the sky poured, and it did the same now.

Kakashi’s favorite memory of Fugaku was when he had pulled him into his office and scolded for how he had handled a report. The chief had thrown a box of crayons at him, shouting that if he wanted to act like a child, he might as well turn in his reports in crayon.

The look on his face when Kakashi had done just that on his next report, alongside a picture of the chief drawn poorly in crayon, the little drawing folding his arms and frowning deeply, was priceless.

Kakashi also did his report right, but he just wanted to mess with him by handing in the first copy in obnoxious green crayon.

Fugaku was oddly proud enough that he put the crayon drawing of himself on the communal fridge, using one of Jiraiya’s ugly “old man” magnets to hold it in place.

Kakashi stood next to their orphaned sons, watching the eldest hold his infant brother to him closely, visibly shaking. Itachi was only eighteen, but he still looked like a child in Kakashi’s eyes, even though he himself had been the same age when he lost his father. Sasuke is swaddled up tightly, sleeping through the affair. From the angle Kakashi is seeing Itachi at, he feels as if he’s looking at the chief’s wife, Mikoto.

Mikoto, who always came into the station with a warm smile on her face and usually freshly baked goods. On more than one occasion, she handed Kakashi a batch of freshly made cookies, still warm from the oven, and told him that he was doing an excellent job. After Kakashi had his eye blinded while trying to break up a barfight during his third month on the force, Mikoto had put together a small care package and delivered it to his apartment. Her and Kushina had been best friends since childhood. Everyone on the force loved it whenever she stopped by, and Fugaku, for appearances, pretended to be annoyed at his wife’s antics to maintain his strict outlook, but Kakashi would see him smile fondly at her whenever she kissed his cheek and dropped off his food.

Itachi looked at the closed caskets lowering into the ground, tears threatening to spill over long eyelashes. His breathing hitched, and Kakashi felt his heart ache as he watched the teen process it, clinging to his infant brother, the only family he had left.

The rookie placed his hand on Itachi’s shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. The teen’s head shot up, looking over at the cop with wide eyes.

The two shared a knowing look, and Kakashi watched as Itachi straightened himself up, putting on the similar mask he had worn at his father’s funeral.

No emotion, simply just being.

 

Kakashi woke up in the middle of the night, roughly an hour after he tried to go to sleep. Iruka was snoring away on the other side of the bed, Bull nestled in between the two. He heard soft crying, and Kakashi let out a sigh before swinging his legs out of bed, padding down the hall.

The guest bedroom of his apartment was where Itachi had decided to stay for the past few days, not wanting to go back to the house that he used to call home, the place where his parents were murdered.

The door was open, and Kakashi opted to walk past it to his little kitchen, turning on the kettle he kept on the stove. He set to making some tea, the same tea Kushina used to make him whenever his insomnia grew bad and he needed to sleep.

Two steaming cups of tea in hand, he pushed his way into the guest bedroom, startling Itachi.

“It’s just me,” he said, trying to keep his voice low. “Here,”

Itachi took the teacup in trembling hands, his gaze focused on his baby brother sleeping soundly beside him in bed.

“It’s tough,” Kakashi said, taking a sip. “And it hurts. It hurts so much, but as time goes on, it gets easier to manage, and then before you know it, the pain is just a dull ache,”

“I’m just upset Sasuke won’t get to know them,” Itachi said. “Mom was so excited to have another baby,”

“He’ll know them. You just have to be there to tell him about them. That’s what I’m going to do with Naruto,”

Silence fell over the two as they drank their tea, and Kakashi placed a hand on Itachi’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“You need some rest, and to eat some food,” Kakashi said, grabbing Itachi’s now empty cup. “I’ll have Iruka make a big breakfast tomorrow. I know you’re gonna say you’re not hungry, but trust me, you need the energy,”

“Okay,” Itachi nodded, lying back down and nestling into the blanket beside Sasuke. “Goodnight, Kakashi,”

“Night, kid,”

Kakashi left the door a crack, opting to leave the hall light on.

Crawling back into bed, Kakashi allowed himself to fall asleep to the steady sounds of Iruka and Bull’s breathing, Biscuit burrowing under the blankets to rest in the crook of Kakashi’s side.

He had been alone, and suddenly surrounded by people who cared and needed him, and that made him feel better in light of the tragedies that had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	15. Fire and Mist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a new bit of evidence, Konoha and Kiri work together.

Kakashi already knew today was going to be a long one, having rushed from the house with quick kisses from Gai and a group hug (tackle) from their kids.

“We have a special guest today,” Tsunade announced, slamming down a file onto his desk. “Please, behave yourself, Hatake,”

“Me? I’m an angel,” Kakashi said. Tsunade snorted, rolling her eyes as she made her way to the debriefing room.

“Whatever, just come with me and don’t argue,”

 

Mei Terumi was Kiri’s police chief, so young to have climbed the ranks, chasing the end of the previous chief’s heinous, corrupt legacy. Kakashi had read the news from time to time, usually when Tenzo was doing his paperwork for him, about how she had been fighting to change the policies that harmed innocent citizens and working on weeding out the corruption from the force.

She may have a kind smile, Kakashi noticed, but he had heard of her hidden scary side, the one only her lieutenant Ao and her officers knew about and shuttered in fear whenever she was in a foul mood.

However, it was confusing as to why she would be standing with Tsunade in their debriefing room, the officers assigned to their case as well as a few Kiri officers sitting at the tables.

“Sit down so I can get started,” Tsunade said to the two, urging them to sit at the front table. Mei pulled out the whiteboard which was littered with pictures and writing, but one of the two suspects stuck out the most to Konoha’s force.

“About four years ago,” Mei began. “I sent one of my most trusted officers to go undercover and check out the Akatsuki. He’s been missing our usual contact for the last two years, and we had presumed he either left the country or he was dead, until last night,”

“Itachi Uchiha disappeared around the same time,” Tsunade picked up. “After the arrest of one of the Akatsuki members, he informed us that Itachi was an active member. Last night, we have a surveillance feed from a café about three blocks from here of the two leaving and getting into a car with what we presume is the ring leader of the Akatsuki. Since it’s involving two separate precincts, we’re collaborating in trying to track them down, and hopefully, bring them in. We’ll divide into teams and search the surrounding area for them. If they’re comfortable enough to go out for what the barista said was coffee and cakes, then they’re probably in the area and not concerned with getting caught,”

“It’s important to know some background of the two,” Mei picked up. “Zabuza, could you please tell us about your former partner?”

One Kiri officer stood, looking genuinely angry. Kakashi frowned, hoping he never got on his bad side. He looked strong enough to probably tear someone’s head clean from their shoulders.

“I’m Officer Zabuza Momochi. Kisame and I were partners for three years, before his reassignment,” Zabuza began. “He’s thirty-two, six foot two, about a hundred and eighty pounds, and a distinct feature is the shark tattoo on his left arm. He used to dye his hair blue, but I’m not sure if he still is or not. He used to be a boxer and is good at hand-to-hand combat. If you encounter him, I would highly suggest tazing him before he gets a hold of you. To put it lightly, he’s built like a brick shithouse,”

“Thank you,” Tsunade said, her gaze going to Kakashi. The look she gave him said all that he needed to know, starting to stand from his seat.

“I’m Detective Kakashi Hatake,” Kakashi said with a small wave. “Itachi Uchiha was my partner for a not even a year before he disappeared, but I’ve known him since he was eighteen. He’s about five-eight, and he might be around a hundred and thirty pounds. He should be about twenty one by now. He may look weak, but he is the former police chief’s son, and he knows how to fight on the defensive, if need be. He hates fighting, and will try to avoid it at all costs,”

“Thank you, both of you,” Mei smiled. “We’ll be dividing you into teams, and we’ll split up and start our search. We need to find them, and fast,”

They were dismissed, Kakashi following Tenzo back to their desks.

“This is going to be hard,” Tenzo said, resting his head on his desk after he plopped down into his chair. “Itachi’s like a little weasel. You can never find him,”

“His dad taught him well,” Kakashi mused, remembering Itachi’s habit of slipping into crowds and disappearing in plain sight. “At least his partner will be easy to find,”

“You can say that after you find him, Hatake,”

Kakashi peered over his shoulder at Zabuza, who had his arms crossed as he glared down the detectives.

“I know my partner,” Zabuza said. “He’s a lot harder to find than you’d originally think,”

“So, we just have to hope they show up in the middle of the day, like normal people?” Tenzo said, watching the Kiri officer roll his eyes.

Izumo and Kotetsu suddenly came running into the bullpen, nearly slamming into a rookie.

“Guys!” Izumo shouted. “That Akatsuki member is getting early release!”

 

 

“Aww, our little jailbird is free!” Rook crowed, watching as Artist made his way over to their car.

“You fool,” Pain said, shaking his head. “You never should have threatened the police. We have to lay low for the next few months, now,”

“Sorry, Leader,”

“You better be,” Pain let out a sigh, before turning to his Angel. “Where are we meeting Shark and Crow?”

“We’re meeting them at the abandoned warehouse they scoped out, in Kiri,” she responded, moving to hold open the door for their youngest member to get into the car. “Bishop and Kamui are going to be waiting there for us,”

“Alright,” Pain glanced at the backseat, where Scorpio sat. “Let’s get going,”

 

The ride to the warehouse was long, and by the time they arrived, the sun was beginning to set.

“About damn time,” Bishop said gruffly, watching his partner saunter over. “What took you all so long?”

“Hi, Boss! Everything’s good here!” Kamui said excitedly from under his thick mask, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“We stopped for lunch,” Angel said, leveling Bishop with a glare before glancing over at the other car. “Where are Crow and Shark?”

“Right here, boss,” Shark said with a wave. His partner was curled up in the passenger seat of their car, Shark’s large jacket a makeshift blanket over his thin frame. “We checked everything out. There’s an old security system that we could probably start back up if Scorpio gets a look at it,”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Scorpio said, feeling a shiver up his spine. The warehouse was located on the water, a short distance from Kiri’s popular boardwalk. “Please tell me there’s heat inside,”

“We should get going, to get things set up,” Pain said, motioning for everyone to follow him into their new base of operations. Bishop and Rook went in first, followed closely by Kamui, Scorpio and Artist.

Angel hung back, watching as Shark knelt by his partner’s side, gently waking him. She felt a small twitch of a smile come to her face, remembering that Crow himself was quite young, always offering to make her tea or bring her something whenever he went out, respecting her over everyone with the exception of his partner.

She knew. She knew the truth behind the two, and what would inevitably come from it, but she couldn’t bring it within her to tell Pain, running the risk of their best team being killed.

Watching Shark carry his sleeping partner, still wrapped up in his jacket, she steeled her emotions before following them in, hoping the day they were found out would never come, or that she would be far gone before it ever happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Akatsuki now has made it's little debut as a full team! I hope the little codenames weren't too difficult/confusing (There's no Zetsu, sorry! I mentioned him in the first chapter, as a fictional character in the show the Team Seven babies like watching)  
> Thank you so much for reading!!!


	16. Firsts (part NSFW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi and Gai say "I love you," for the first time.  
> The latter portion of the chapter is a bit NSFW, so if you want, you can skip it.

Gai and Kakashi didn’t realize how quickly their relationship passed by until it was around the seven month mark. It seemed as if it was just yesterday that Kakashi was walking into his gym, feeling his heart skip a beat when he had first seen the handsome man. Gai still found himself falling more and more every day he got to wake up by Kakashi’s side, or see him. The sight of the man filled his heart with a fiery passion, one that only his kisses could quench. Having someone who understood him, someone who was in all sense of the word his equal, brought immense joy to his life. Kakashi sometimes didn’t appreciate waking up to Gai nearly smothering him from rolling on top of him during the middle of the night, bed full of dogs and children, but he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

It would be nice if Neji wasn’t such an early riser, and if he would get off of Kakashi’s stomach.

“Dad, wake up,” Neji leaned over, shaking Gai’s shoulder to rouse him. Gai stretched with a loud yawn, morning breath right in Kakashi’s face. His rival drew his blankets up to cover his face, nose scrunched up in disgust.

“Good morning, my little lotus,” Gai said, wrapping an arm around Neji and pulling him to his chest. “We’ll get up in a bit, okay?”

“Okay, Dad,”

As if on que, Kakashi felt someone wiggle their way into his side, hogging most of his blanket.

There was only one of his kids who was the biggest blanket hog.

“Naruto,” Kakashi groaned. “’m cold,”

“I’m cold too, ya know,” Naruto mumbled, refusing his blanket. Kakashi sighed, throwing an arm around Naruto. Iruka would be swinging by later to take the kids while Kakashi and Gai spent some time together, offering to go take them to the park. It was spring, the weather warm and perfect for six little kids to burn off their energy.

Inoichi from the crime scene unit had introduced Kakashi and Sakura to his daughter, Ino, with hopes that she would have more girl friends rather than Shikaku and Choza’s sons, Shikamaru and Choji. He had told Kakashi this over coffee at the station, near tears when he recalled walking into his daughter’s bedroom to find Choji coaching her how to burp. He would send a quick text to see if they could bring their kids, too. Tenten would also appreciate it, that way her and Sakura wouldn’t just be the only girls.

Kakashi noticed that Gai seemed to be spending a lot more time over at his house, the kids sleeping over almost constantly. Not that he minded, he loved having them close. Kakashi had grown attached to Gai’s kids, and Gai to Kakashi’s. They made an interesting ragtag family, and Tsunade and Jiraiya constantly teased the two for acting like an old married couple.

Gai watched the back of Kakashi’s head as he fell back asleep, Naruto in his arms. Neji rested his head on Gai’s shoulder, content in spending the early morning holding his dad.

His heart felt so full of love, and he felt afraid. Kakashi and he hadn’t said the word to each other yet, but Gai was wholeheartedly in love with Kakashi.

He would tell him when the kids were gone, the two being alone.

 

“I’m graduating next month,” Iruka reminded Kakashi. “Please, don’t show up late, like you did for my associates,”

“Maa, I would never!” Kakashi teased, reaching out to pinch Iruka’s cheek. “Anything for my favorite babysitter,”

“You’re lucky Iruka’s my friend, ya know!” Naruto said, barraging Kakashi’s legs with tiny punches. “Or else I would have beat you to a pulp!”

Kakashi heard Gai chuckle behind him, rolling his eyes.

“Of course I’ll be there,” Kakashi promised. “You’re like a little brother to me, Iruka. I’m proud of you,”

Iruka gave him a big smile, leaning down to hold Naruto’s hand.

“Say goodbye to your dads, kids,” Iruka said, watching as Gai’s kids immediately tackled him for a big hug.

Gai laughed, holding his babies close before peppering their foreheads with kisses.

“Have fun, my sweet little babes! I’ll see you later, when you come back,” he said.

Naruto stopped punching Kakashi’s legs, instead wrapping his arms around him quickly before running over to give Gai a hug goodbye. Sakura and Sasuke took their time, letting Kakashi kneel down to hug them both tightly.

“Be good, Sasuke,” Kakashi threatened. “No running off and hiding from Iruka, Sakura,”

“Okay, Papa Kakashi,” Sakura nodded, throwing her arms around his neck. “I love you,”

“I love you too,” Kakashi smiled, pressing a small kiss to her forehead before giving one to Sasuke, who pouted. “I love you, too, Sasuke,”

“I love you,” he mumbled, letting go to take Iruka’s hand. Lee slammed himself into Kakashi’s back, wrapping around like a little marsupial.

“Bye, Kakashi!” Lee said. “Have fun!”

“Bye, Kashi!” Tenten waved, skipping along to grab Sakura’s hand. Neji waved before following Iruka off to his car, the two fathers standing in the doorway and waving their kids goodbye.

 

Kakashi felt nervous, feeling his face flush. Gai looked so handsome in his pajamas, just starting to wake up for the day. His hair was slightly sticking up on the side he had been laying on, but he looked more amazing than any man or woman he had ever seen. He felt love creep into his being slowly, calmly, and it made him the happiest he had been in a long time. He had a loving family, and an equally loving partner.

“Gai?” Kakashi said, hoping to remain calm. “I need to tell you something important,”

“Go ahead, my man of destiny,” Gai said, settling into the couch beside him, their coffees finished.

Kakashi swallowed the lump in his throat.

“I’ve really enjoyed our time together,” he began, lacing his fingers in between Gai’s. “And I love the time we spend together, with our kids. It feels nice, and it’s been a while since I’ve really let someone in. Most people saw that I had three kids and then completely ignored me as any chance of a partner, but you were open and blunt about it, and I really like that about you. I think you’re the best man I’ve ever met, and you’re incredibly handsome and kind. I just wanted to let you know that I really care about you,”

He refused to meet Gai’s eyes, afraid of the next few works he was about to say.

“Gai, I…I really love you,”

Kakashi heard a loud sniffle, and when he met his boyfriend’s gaze, he was greeted to tears streaming down his face in droves, Gai’s shoulders shaking.

“Kakashi,” he cried, smiling at his boyfriend as he wrapped his arms around him tightly. “I love you, too! I’m so thankful to have a man like you in my life. There’s no one else I’d rather have for a rival in rock paper scissors, or in cooking. I love you and your family, and I’ve been so happy since we met. You mean so much to me, and I just want to kiss you and hold you and love you,”

“So do it,” Kakashi said, ignoring his blush and leaning forward to kiss him. Their lips met, Gai’s hands coming up to cup Kakashi’s cheeks.

Kakashi nipped at Gai’s lip, forcing his tongue into his mouth as they kissed more passionately. Gai’s lips were always so soft and plump, and Kakashi found himself lost in their kisses until he had to pull away from air, both panting heavily.

Kakashi had a separate issue, feeling himself harden in his pajama pants. He thought back on his romance novels, sneaking a hand down to cup at Gai’s length.

Kakashi felt himself overwhelmed with love and passion at the moment, and the way Gain moaned as Kakashi gripped him, he could tell his lover was as well.

Sneaking his hand into the waistband of his pajamas, Kakashi began to stroke Gai’s long, thick member. Swiping his thumb over the head, he felt how much he had begun to drip for him, spurring Kakashi to kiss him once more.

“Kakashi,” Gai moaned, losing his thoughts as Kakashi continued to pump him. “If you keep this up, I might come,”

“That kind of is the plan,” Kakashi said, kissing down his neck. “Unless you want to take this to the bedroom?”

Gai moaned when Kakashi gripped him a bit tighter on the upstroke, nodding before wrapping the detective up in his arms and nearly hoisting him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing and carrying him off towards the bedroom.

 

 

Kakashi, in a post-orgasmic haze, rolled over to rest his head on Gai’s chest, not caring for the soreness that was beginning to settle in. Gai wrapped his arms around Kakashi, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head.

“I love you so much, Kakashi,” he said, pressing more kisses to Kakashi’s forehead.

“I love you just as much, Gai,” Kakashi ignored his sensitivity to tilt his head up to kiss Gai’s lips. “That was…”

“Full of youthful passion?” Gai finished, and Kakashi snorted.

“I suppose,” he winked, pressing another kiss to Gai’s nose.

“Better than your romance novels?”

“Much better than my romance novels,”

“I love you,”

“You just said that?”

“I don’t ever want to stop saying it,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written anything smutty before, so this was a first for me (haha)  
> Thank you for reading! :)


	17. not a question, but a lesson learned in time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graduation comes quickly.

Iruka hated big formal events, but he felt himself wound tight with nervous energy as he got ready in his room, his dress clothes laid out on the bed. His stomach seemed to do flips as he glanced at the graduation robe and cap hanging up in his closet, the university color green.

Hopefully, they could all go out to Teuchi’s afterwards for dinner and drinks, and the nervous energy would dispel.

He looked at his ties, worrying his lip with his teeth as he tried to decide on what one to wear. He was just wearing simple black slacks and a blue button-up, but he did just complete his undergraduate, and therefore, he should wear something nice…

His eye caught on something obnoxiously green, and he found himself smiling.

For Christmas, Kakashi had taken the kids out to grab little presents for those close. Sasuke had gotten Iruka a pair of gloves, and Sakura had insisted on buying him chapstick.

Naruto, however, had picked out a tie. A tie with ugly, cartoonish frogs scattered across the fabric. They looked more like snails in Iruka’s opinion, but the bright smile Naruto had given him when he opened up the gift had been worth it.

Iruka smiled, sliding his shirt on.

The frog tie would do.

 

There were hundreds of people crammed into metal chairs littering the lawn of the sports field, and as Iruka walked out with his classmates, he felt his air catch in his chest. There was no way of telling if Kakashi actually had shown up, but he secretly hoped he did.

Kakashi had become more like a brother over the course of the past few years. Going from just knowing him in passing to being part-time live-in babysitter, Iruka never expected to have had a close bond since the death of his parents.

Now, Kakashi’s kids were like his niece and nephews, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world. He’d spent countless hours at Kakashi’s home, helping him wrangle the kids into taking their bathes or consoling them from nightmares, and life without their smiles and little personalities would be a life quite boring.

As he settled down in his seat, waiting to listen to the commencement ceremony begin, which would be followed by long speeches, Iruka hoped Kakashi actually made it on time, and that the kids wouldn’t be too terribly bored throughout the whole ordeal.

 

The speeches took a whole two hours to complete, in which Iruka would have napped if not for the anxiety he began to feel.

He wanted to shoot a text to Kakashi, to see if he was here, but he had left his phone in his car. He truly hoped that they were there, since they ended up being late to his graduation from community college two years prior. Iruka had gotten incredibly depressed during the ceremony, and it was then that he realized how much Kakashi’s little family meant to him. They would be the only ones who actually cared about him graduating other than the friends he had made through his major, and it meant the world to Iruka that they would be there for him in such an important moment of his life.

He stood in line, trying to fight the urge to fiddle with his hands as he waited for them to call his name.

“Raidō Namiashi,” the announcer said into her microphone, taking the name card from the graduate in front of him. Iruka nervously stepped forward, handing her his card.

“Iruka Umino,”

The moment Iruka walked onto the stage, ready to go shake hands with the Dean, he heard an incredibly distinct voice from the large crowd.

“I love you, Iruka!” Naruto shouted, and when Iruka gazed out, over the sea of people, he could see Naruto on Kakashi’s shoulders, frantically waving. Sakura and Sasuke stood on their seats, holding up a sign that Kakashi no doubt had them make, their familiar scribble noticeable from far away.

He had to avert his gaze quickly before he started crying on stage, quickly shaking hands with everyone he needed to before walking off stage to pose for a picture with his degree.

He lost it once he got back to his seat, however, having to cover his face to hide the tears of joy streaming down his cheeks.

 

Through the confusion and bustle of graduates going to meet with their families, Iruka somehow managed to find Kakashi, a camera around his neck as he tried to keep a hold of the kids.

“Iruka!” Sakura shouted, bounding over to him and holding her arms up to be held. He knelt down and picked her up, laughing when she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly. “Graduations!”

“Congratulations, sweetie,” he said, laughing. Naruto detached his hand from Kakashi’s to rush over, throwing his arms around him.

“Did you hear me? Did you hear me?” he asked excitedly.

“I did!” Iruka said. “You were so loud,”

Kakashi came over, holding Sasuke in his arms. The littlest Uchiha was resting his head on Kakashi’s shoulder, looking close to falling asleep.

“I didn’t realize how long it was going to be,” Kakashi said. “I would have come in late,”

“You came on time?” Iruka was genuinely shocked. “That’s a new one for you,”

“You’re family,” Kakashi said, as if it were plain and simple. “Of course, I would come early,”

Iruka fought back a new wave of tears, feeling a small hand on his cheek.

“Aw, don’t cry,” Sakura said, frowning. “Don’t be sad. Be happy!”

“I am happy,” he said, holding her just a little tighter. “I’m so happy, Sakura,”

“Good,” Kakashi smiled. “Let’s get a picture for this,”

 

The picture quickly became Iruka’s new favorite photo of his family. He was still holding Sakura, who was smiling with all of her teeth, and Naruto was propped on his other hip, holding out a thumb’s up. Kakashi held Sasuke, who was awake enough to smile slightly for the picture.

Kakashi even pulled down his mask to show his genuine smile, an arm wrapped around Iruka.

He finally felt like he truly belonged into the family, and that was enough to bring him more joy than finishing four grueling years of college for a few words printed on a fancy piece of paper, framed in a neat little holder.

 

Originally, they had planned to go out for dinner, but stovetop ramen and a bottle of celebratory champagne seemed more Iruka’s style than a fancy restaurant that the kids would certainly cause a scene at.

Gai came over later with his children, pulling Iruka into a congratulatory hug.

“Congrats!” he said, nearly crushing Iruka in his grasp. “I’m so happy for you! Kakashi wouldn’t stop praising all your hard work earlier. Now, you can spend the springtime of your youth helping young children! What a wonderful career choice!”

“Thank you, Gai,” Iruka patted his back, hoping he could get out of the bone-crushing hug soon.

“Maa, let the kid be,” Kakashi teased, stirring the noodles. “Be useful, Gai, and pour us some more champagne?”

Gai let out a hearty laugh before releasing Iruka, making to fill their champagne flutes.

“I want some, too!” Naruto shouted, jumping up and down next to Iruka. Iruka smiled, reaching down to ruffle his hair before moving to grab a champagne flute from the cabinet. Kakashi kept some seltzer in the fridge, and he poured that into the glass for Naruto.

“Here,” he said, watching Naruto try the flavored seltzer. His face scrunched up, spitting it out.

“Ew! The water is spicy,” he said, handing the glass back to Iruka. “That’s spicy! I don’t want it,”

The adults in the room laughed, laughed so hard that tears came to their eyes.

“Naruto, dear,” Gai said, wheezing. “It’s carbonated. It’s not spicy,”

“I don’t like it,” Naruto insisted, running over to the living room to tackle Neji and play with the rest of the kids.

“I love that kid,” Kakashi said, stifling his giggles. “Tenzo’s gonna swing by later, and he’s bringing another bottle of champagne. Ramen should be done in about… five minutes?”

“Sounds perfect,”

And it was.

 

Iruka regretted the hangover the next day, Kakashi, Tenzo and him drinking a bottle of champagne a piece. Biscuit was sleeping on his feet from where he slept on Kakashi’s large bed. Gai was snoring off by his ear, Kakashi curled up by his side. Tenzo was sleeping next to him, Pakkun on his chest.

There was no noise, and the sun had just risen, which meant that the kids were still sleeping.

Pulling the blanket up a bit more, Iruka relaxed into the warmth of the bed and those around him, feeling the stress from his last semester roll off him in waves before falling back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is a line from "Time of Your Life" by Green Day, which played at my dad's graduation when he finished high school.   
> Thank you for reading!


	18. Galeocerdo cuvier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the aquarium ends differently than expected.

May seemed to slip from their grasp as summer hit full swing, the heat becoming unbearable as the golden sun shone down. Kakashi loved the deep tan Gai was getting, but whenever his boyfriend insisted on “couple mornings,” which involved the two of them going out for a jog in the already muggy morning, he was close to just locking himself in his bedroom with the kids, dogs, and air conditioning.

“How about we take the kids to the aquarium?” Gai asked, pulling a barely awake Kakashi close to him. The sun had just risen in the sky, a start of a new day.

“Hm,” was Kakashi’s response, opting to press his face against Gai’s chest, relaxing into his hold.

“Think about it,” Gai continued, resting his cheek atop Kakashi’s mess of silver hair. “Lee’s been talking non-stop about fish, and I know Naruto would want to see the frogs. Sasuke said he likes eels, right? And I think Neji and Tenten mentioned something about pufferfish the other day. Sakura wouldn’t be too keen, I don’t think, but she might still have fun,”

“Maa, too early,” Kakashi mumbled, pressing a lazy kiss to Gai’s shoulder. “Let me sleep in,”

Gai bit his lip, watching his boyfriend nod back off to sleep. Work had become hectic for him lately, between working with Kiri’s police force and having to drop almost all cases in favor of this big one that he seemed to be in a deadlock with.

Tenzo once told Gai that it felt like it was pointless at this point to try to even stop the Akatsuki, with how secretive and difficult it was to get any sort of information on their whereabouts. The partners looked exhausted every time Gai happened to swing by and drop off some coffee and sweets for them, quickly becoming a regular favorite around the station.

Kakashi also had the added stress that the kids were going to be starting kindergarten soon, but he was somewhat calmed by the fact that Iruka was going to be the assistant teacher to Kurenai, who the kids’ got as a teacher. Kakashi also felt safe, already knowing Kurenai through Gai, that she could handle his brats.

Gai thought that Kakashi’s stress over the kids entering kindergarten was just him not wanting them to grow up so fast, but he kept that to himself.

“Aquarium wouldn’t be so bad,” Kakashi mused, his attempt to fall back asleep fruitless. Gai was thinking so hard he could almost hear it. “We’ll ask the kiddos,”

“Kiri has a nice aquarium,”

“That’s a two hour drive,”

“It’d be worth it, right?”

 

The ride most definitely had not been worth it, Kakashi decided, having to sit in the passenger seat of Gai’s van and deal with Lee kicking his seat from excitement.

 

The aquarium was busy for a Tuesday, but Kakashi assumed it was due to school being out for summer break. He almost felt nervous with how many people were around, thankful that Sakura was clinging to his hand for dear life. She was still nervous with big crowds, but with Iruka easing her into it more often, she had gotten better.

Today seemed to be an off day, however, since as Gai predicted, she had no interest in seeing anything.

“Wow, that is so cool!” Tenten said in awe, watching the tank with the jellyfish. “Dad, look!”

“I’m looking, Tenten,” Gai laughed, letting her drag him over. Lee was staring in awe at every tank they saw, the blue light of the aquarium lighting his face. Sasuke and Naruto were off looking at the tank next to the jellyfish, seeing the schools of small fish swimming around. Neji hung back by Kakashi, seemingly bored with the specimens in front of him.

“I want to see the stingrays,” he said, crossing his arms. Kakashi had to resist the urge to laugh, opting to ruffle his hair a bit.

“We’ll see them in a bit,” he promised.

They moved from one hall to the next, the throngs of people beginning to thin. Neji seemed to get more excited for the trip as they continued, a small grazing his lips.

Neji had been the hardest for Kakashi to grow close to, but over the course of the past now nine months with Gai, he had grown used to Kakashi. Lee had immediately bonded with him, and while Tenten originally was wary, by the end of the third month had decided to tell Gai and Kakashi over dinner that she wanted him to be her other dad.

It had made Gai spit out his water, but now, Kakashi noticed as he watched Gai smile at his children, he may ask her if the offer still stands.

When Gai freed himself from Tenten, he laced his fingers with Kakashi’s free hand that wasn’t supporting Sakura, leaning forward to press a small kiss to where Kakashi’s beauty mark was.

He truly loved the ragtag family they had become, bringing Gai’s hand up to his mouth to press a small kiss back in return.

 

As they navigated the halls, Kakashi and Gai opted to hang back a bit, watching the kids with a careful eye as they ran to and from the tanks. Lee was excited over everything, as was Naruto, the two buzzing with that incredible amount of energy only small kids seemed to have, Kakashi mused. Tenten had managed to take Neji with her to see the tanks, asking him for help with the more difficult words. Gai felt proud, knowing that Neji was reading at a fourth grade level at only six.

“Can we go see the sharks now?” Lee asked, jumping up and down by Naruto’s side.

“Of course,” Kakashi said, shifting Sakura on his hip. He did a quick headcount, feeling his heart stop in panic.

“Where’s Sasuke?”

 

Sasuke wasn’t so much a fan of aquatic life. Fish bored him, reminding him of the one time Iruka had won some goldfish from a fair and Naruto accidentally dumped a whole container of fish food into the bowl.

Fish were stupid.

Giraffes, however, were a lot cooler.

Sasuke could agree to one thing, though, and that was that sharks were pretty interesting. He watched as a tiger shark swam throughout the tank, eyes wide. The glass was tall, tall like a building, the panel separating him from the sharks swimming around. Blue light illuminated his face, and soon, before he realized it, he was one of three people in the room.

He didn’t mean to run off, but his dad was too busy with Sakura and Gai was too busy being dragged too and from by his kids, and he wanted to see the sharks. Besides, they were only a few rooms away, so they would find him, anyway.

Dad was a cop, and cops always find people, so his dad could easily find him.

“This is always my favorite part of visiting the aquarium,” a man with a thinner voice said, somewhere off behind Sasuke.

“Could it be that you never outgrew your childish love of sharks, Kisame?” another voice, smoother, said.

Sasuke felt like the voice sounded familiar, something he might have heard in a video once before.

“Hey, kid,” the first voice said. “You probably shouldn’t touch the glass,”

Sasuke jumped, startled as he turned around and almost ran smack into the man.

Looking up, he was met with a sharp grin from the man, who was taller than Gai. The first thing Sasuke noticed, besides the sharp teeth, was the blue hair and the large shark tattoo on his right arm. Sasuke barely reached his hip, and he felt his heart beat fast as he grew scared.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to startle you,” the second man said, giving him a small smile. He looked friendlier, Sasuke thought, still tall enough that Sasuke was small next to him, but more familiar, in a sense. Long, black hair was swept over one shoulder in a low ponytail, glasses pushed up on his nose. Where his partner was tall and muscular, he was lithe and more beautiful.

“What’s wrong?” the man asked, raising an eyebrow.

“D-Dad said not to t-talk to strangers,” Sasuke stuttered out, trying to peek around the taller man and see if his dad was coming.

“I’m not a stranger,” the younger said, kneeling down to Sasuke. “What’s your name?”

“Sasuke,”

“That’s a nice name, Sasuke,” the man said, giving him a small smile. “Where’s your dad right now?”

“He’s with his boyfriend and my siblings,” Sasuke said, remembering Kakashi telling him not to lie.

“Do you like sharks?” the man asked, reading Sasuke’s face.

“Yeah, but giraffes are my favorite animal,”

“Giraffes are a good animal,” a sad smile came to the man’s face. His eyes looked glossy, like he might begin to cry. “How old are you?”

“I just turned five,” Sasuke said, holding up one hand. “My birthday was a month ago,”

The man looked a bit sadder now, but he tried to hide his emotions. His partner placed a large hand on his shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. Sasuke thought that it reminded him of what Gai did to Kakashi sometimes, when his dad was worried about work. Gai seemed to always calm him down with a hand on his shoulder.

Sasuke’s brow furrowed in confusion, glancing at a face that looked oddly similar to his own.

He looked like the man in the picture Sasuke had of his family, from before Kakashi.

 

“Sasuke?” Kakashi nearly shouted, weaving through the crowd of people. Gai was with the kids, Sakura reluctant to detach herself from Kakashi to stay with him. “Sasuke?”

He jogged down the hall with the stingrays, avoiding crashing into a woman with a stroller. Panic began to course through him, eyes darting to scan the sea of faces. Sasuke was short, shorter than Naruto by only a bit, but small enough to be easy to overlook.

Kakashi had lost the kids a few times before. Naruto, when he learned to walk, had taken off running, and had a habit of running down grocery store aisles and hiding behind rolls of paper towels. Sakura, when Kakashi first adopted her, had gotten scared and hid in a closet in the house, and it took Kakashi two whole hours of panicking and her crying for him to finally find her. Sasuke tended to wander, and Kakashi felt stupid for not keeping a hold on him.

He kept telling himself that the aquarium has a surveillance feed, and, worst case scenario, he can look through footage to find his son.

The room for the sharks was relatively empty, only a few small groups of people there. Two men were blocking his view, but once he saw a small, worried face peer out from behind one of them, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

“Sasuke,” he said, feeling his worry melt off his shoulders. Still, he had the duty as a parent to scold him for running off. “Sasuke, you had me worried,”

“Sorry, Papa,” Sasuke said, his voice small. The man crouched in front of Sasuke stood up, turning so half his face was visible to Kakashi.

All thoughts completely escaped Kakashi's mind, the only sound he heard was his own gasp.

There, in the blue hue of the aquarium, was Itachi Uchiha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :)


	19. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to outrun a cop is no good.

“Just our luck,” Kisame rolled his eyes, pulling Itachi through the crowd of parents and their children.

“Let’s just go,” Itachi said, his grip on Kisame tight.

 

They had planned to go visit the aquarium on their rare day off. Their leader had mentioned something about not needing them for work that day, and the day originally started off nicely, with breakfast at a café and then a quick trip to the bookstore to pick up a book Itachi had ordered for Konan. Kisame had been the one to bring up the aquarium, complaining slightly that he hadn’t gone in years.

Itachi didn’t mind, listening to his partner prattle off facts about the different fish they saw. Kisame was acting like an excited child, and it made Itachi think of his baby brother he had to leave behind.

Sasuke had only been a year old the last time he saw him. What was he like now? He just turned five not too long ago. What was his favorite color? What foods did he like? Dislike?

Itachi shook his head, as if willing those thoughts to cease. He was out with his partner, and he would let himself enjoy his day off.

“This is always my favorite part of visiting the aquarium,” Kisame said, moving faster once he noticed they were going into the shark room.

“Could it be that you never outgrew your childish love of sharks, Kisame?” Itachi almost laughed, letting himself smile instead.

When they had wandered their way into the room, Itachi had stopped dead in his tracks. Kisame’s gaze followed, the reflection on the glass showing a small boy who looked almost identical to Itachi. His partner had known the truth about it all, and the flash of pain on Itachi’s face once he recognized his little brother had hurt him, as well.

“Hey, kid. You probably shouldn’t touch the glass,” Kisame warned, watching as Sasuke jumped at the sudden voice. The room was mostly empty, only a few stragglers.

Sasuke turned around, and almost ran straight into Kisame.

There was no doubt about it, Itachi thought. He looked just like him, just like their mother. That was his little brother.

He looked frightened, and worry flooded into Itachi.

Where was Kakashi? Who was supervising his little brother?

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to startle you,” Itachi said, watching Sasuke’s eyes dart towards the exit of the room. “What’s wrong?”

“D-Dad said not to t-talk to strangers,” Sasuke stuttered out, and Itachi wanted to slap himself for making his little brother so afraid.

“I’m not a stranger,” he said, kneeling down to get to Sasuke’s eye level. “What’s your name?”

“Sasuke,”

Itachi smiled, feeling the familiar prick of tears coming to his eyes.

 _No,_ he thought. _Not now._

He continued talking to his brother, listening to his answer to his questions truthfully. Kakashi was there, which would pose as a problem, but all Itachi wanted to do was spend time with his baby brother, who looked so much like he did.

 

“Itachi?” it came out breathless, almost strangled.

“Kakashi,” his voice was still as smooth as it had been when he was his partner, the only person who could out sweet-talk Kakashi.

Itachi stood back to his full height, turning to face his former partner. Kakashi’s eye darted to the inside of his wrist, noting to little red cloud tattoo. His partner, who would be trouble if Kakashi needed to stop him, had the same one.

Kakashi felt his mind nearly short-circuit from the sudden sight.

That was Zabuza’s former partner, Kisame Hoshigaki, standing next to his former partner.

“Papa?” Sasuke asked, sounding worried.

Kakashi wanted to run over to Sasuke, to hold him in his arms and keep him safe from the possible murderer of his parents, to keep him safe, but he also wanted to apprehend the two and hold them before Kiri and Konoha’s police could get there.

“Itachi?” Sasuke sounded out the name Kakashi had repeated, and Kakashi saw heartbreak written across the eldest Uchiha’s face. “That’s my big brother’s name,”

“What are you doing here?” Kakashi asked, gingerly taking a step forward. He was worried that if he moved too quickly, they would make their move to leave.

Itachi didn’t respond, simply grabbing his partner and taking off towards the next hall that looped back to the front of the aquarium. His partner mumbled something Kakashi couldn’t hear, but he didn’t miss the last look Itachi gave to Sasuke before they began to move through the crowd of people.

Sasuke looked confused, and Kakashi was thankful that Gai came into the room at that moment.

“Stay right here, Sasuke,” he said. “I’ll be right back,”

Sasuke opened his mouth to ask something, but Kakashi knew that there was no time for questions. He pulled his cellphone out, calling the number Zabuza had given him on their first day of working their joint case.

The phone rang as Kakashi trailed after the duo, thankfully easy to spot. They had moved into the crowded hall with the touch tanks, making their way towards the front exit.

 _“This better be important,”_ Zabuza’s gruff answer was.

“Zabuza, it’s me, Kakashi,” Kakashi said, trying to keep his voice low. “I found your partner. I’m following him now,”

_“Shit, really? Where are you?”_

“The aquarium on the water,”

_“I gotcha. I’ll be there in ten,”_

“Make it five. They’re trying to leave,”

 

“We’re almost there,” Itachi felt himself sigh in relief, the entrance to the aquarium in sight. Looking back, he could barely see the top of Kakashi’s silver hair. Their car was parked relatively close to the entrance, and if they ran, they could probably get away safely.

Kisame nudged open the door with his arm, wrapping his other one around Itachi to push him through the door first.

Kisame wasn’t expecting to get punched the minute he got out the door, a familiar face behind the man who hit him, but things never turned out as expected, it seemed.

“Thank you, for that,” Zabuza said, looking back at Gai. “You’ve got one hell of a hook,”

“I train a boxer,” Gai said, shaking his hand. “He taught me a few things,”

Itachi looked like a deer in headlights, his partner unconscious on the ground. He felt warm hands grab his, holding them behind his back.

“Itachi Uchiha, you’re under arrest for the murder of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha,” Kakashi said, the cold sting of metal cuffs pinching his wrists.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short, but Kakashi finally got the "bad" guys.  
> Thank you for reading!


	20. partnership

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into how Kisame and Itachi became partners.

Itachi came home from the library to a bloodbath, dropping his college prep textbooks in the entrance to the room. His heart pounded hard enough in his chest that he could feel it throughout his whole body, rushing over to see his parents.

His mother, her sweet face covered in blood, eyes lifeless.

His father, still, unmoving, as if shielding his wife to protect her.

Red, there was so much red. Crimson seeping into the carpet, crimson spattered on the walls. Red used to be his favorite color, but now, it haunted him in his dreams.

A cry broke Itachi from his thoughts.

Sasuke.

His heart ached, his eyes hurt from crying, but he felt relief come over him as he held his baby brother to him, crying into his little shoulder, thankful that he was still alive.

 

“Did you see that Mangetsu has us all down for babysitting duty?” Zabuza complained, setting down Kisame’s cup of coffee hard on his desk. “I don’t want to watch his little brat of a brother,”

“Suigetsu’s kind of cute, though,” Kisame shrugged, looking over at Ameyuri, who was cooing at the toddler in her lap. Mangetsu, her partner, was dead to the world, slumped over his desk. “Don’t you want kids someday, Zabuza?”

“Nope,” Zabuza said, taking a bite of his sandwich. “I can barely take care of myself, let alone a kid,”

Suigetsu wiggled himself off of Ameyuri’s lap, toddling over to the two. He went straight to Zabuza, flashing a smirk of only a few teeth.

“Go away, brat,” Zabuza tried shooing him away. “Go bug Jinpachi and Kushimaru,”

“No,” Suigetsu said, and Kisame groaned. If he had to hear another chorus of “no’s,” coming from Suigetsu, he might just lock the kid in an interrogation room with some toys and leave him be for a bit. “No, Zabu,”

“I’m not Zabu,” Zabuza grumbled. “Zabuza,”

“Zabu,”

“Zabuza,”

“Zabu!”

“Are you really arguing with a one year old?” Kisame asked, stifling a giggle. “How old are you?”

“Ugh, fine!” Zabuza gave up, yanking open his drawer. He pulled out a mini chocolate bar, handing it to Suigetsu. “There you go, brat,”

Mei, who was watching from her office with Ao, let out a howl of laughter.

 

Taking care of Sasuke was hard enough.

Taking care of Sasuke and Naruto together was almost near impossible.

Itachi almost laughed at Kakashi, moving like a zombie throughout his apartment, baby Naruto on his hip as he trudged off to make a bottle. Sasuke was curled up asleep in his crib, Itachi catching up on his paperwork.

Kakashi plopped down onto the couch next to him, Naruto drinking his bottle rapidly. He was just able to hold his own bottle, and Kakashi was thankful that he could lean back into the couch and close his eyes for just two seconds.

“I made cookies,” Itachi offered, and Kakashi perked up a bit. “And I can make a fresh pot of coffee,”

“You’re a blessing as a roommate,” Kakashi said, shifting Naruto in his arms. Itachi gave a shrug, turning back to his paperwork.

 

“Please, Kisame,” Mei begged, sitting on her desk in front of her childhood friend. “Do this for me, please,”

“Why me?” Kisame asked. “Send Raiga. Hell, even send the dynamic duo for all I care. I don’t do undercover missions, Mei,”

“You’re the best for the job,” Ao spoke up from his seat. “I swear, you’re dumber than a pile of rocks sometimes, Hoshigaki. Mei’s ordering you as your captain,”

“Please,” Mei took his hands in her own. “The Akatsuki killed Fuguki, Juzo and Jinin. We all could be targets next,”

“What about Zabuza?”

“You’ll be his informant,” Mei explained. “You’re to send us a report whenever you can, preferably once or twice a month, so I know you’re still alive,”

“Fine. I’ll do it,”

 

“Undercover?” Itachi repeated, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, the mayor.

“I’m sending you to do this, as the former chief of police,” Hiruzen said, his advisor, Danzo, lurking in the corner of the room. “You’re to infiltrate the Akatsuki, find anything you can on them, and try to stop them,”

“I take it I won’t be allowed to see my brother anymore,” Itachi said quietly, and Hiruzen placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Your father was going to do this mission for us. Now, it’s up to you. You need to leave immediately. Take whatever you can, but please, try not to contact Kakashi or anyone else once you’re in. We’ll handle Sasuke,”

“I want Sasuke to stay with Kakashi,” Itachi pleaded. “He’s the only family I have left,”

“The man who we think murdered your parents is in the Akatsuki,” Danzo said. “You’re to find him, and see if there’s any evidence we can pin him with,”

“I understand,”

 

Konan looked Itachi over, her mouth set in a deep frown.

“You’re a child,” she noted.

“I’m nineteen,”

“A child, really,” she shook her head. “I’ll partner you up with Shark. Your new name from this day on is Crow. Please, refrain from using your real name,”

“Thank you,” Itachi said, following her down the hall from her office.

“I like you already. You’re incredibly polite, unlike some of our other members,” Konan grimaced when she heard a loud shatter from the kitchen. Stopping by the communal kitchen, she peered in.

Rook was holding a broken bottle, pointing it at Artist.

“Clean up that mess,” Konan said, voice stern. “Quit threatening your comrades, Rook. There will be consequences,”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rook waved the broken bottle. “Tell Blondie to quit eating my food,”

Konan raised an eyebrow, unamused.

“Let’s find your partner, Crow,”

 

“Don’t mess with me,” Shark threatened. “I will kill you,”

“Same goes for you,” Crow responded, unshaken.

 

It was a mistake, really.

Pain had set them up with an apartment on the water, overlooking the bay in Kiri. Their base would be Konoha but scattering the teams throughout would make it harder to find them. Artist and Kamui were in Iwa, Scorpio being based in Suna, Rook and Bishop in Kumo, Shark and Crow in Kiri, and Pain and Angel in Konoha.

Crow was coming back to their apartment after grabbing some groceries, toeing off his shoes before making his way into the living room.

There, sitting on the couch, was a member of the Kiri police force, chatting away with his partner as if reminiscing on old times.

“Man, Suigetsu’s getting big!” Ameyuri said, pulling her phone out. “Look! He’s got this cute lil snaggletooth, just like Mangetsu!”

“How’s the dynamic duo?”

“Jinpachi’s still a dick, and Kushimaru got in trouble because he tied everyone’s shoelaces together, like some kind of kid,” Ameyuri shook her head. “We all got to taze him. It was fun. We miss you, Kisa. When’re you coming back?”

“Whenever this stupid undercover mission is over,” Kisame relaxed into the couch beside his coworker. “I just miss the force,”

Itachi then decided to clear his throat, alerting his partner that he was there and had heard his conversation.

“Oh shit,” Ameyuri said. “I guess I’ll see myself out. Sorry, Kisa. Nice knowing you. If you die, you can come back and haunt me, but only if you help me pull pranks of Zabuza and Raiga. He’s the worst replacement for you. Okay, bye,”

She slipped out of the apartment, the door clicking behind her.

“I suppose you’re going to either kill me or tell Pain, and then he’ll kill me,” Kisame said, standing up. “Well, nice knowing you, kid. I at least want one last beer before you kill me,”

“You’re undercover?” Itachi’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. Kisame nodded, going over to their kitchen and pulling out a beer. Itachi followed in, moving around him as he put away the groceries.

Kisame watched him from the entryway, watching his younger partner. Itachi disappeared into their room, coming out a few minutes later in a pair of pajamas. He made his way back to the kitchen, popping the cork out of a bottle of wine before moving back to the couch. Kisame followed, sitting on the opposite end.

Itachi was still underage, and how he got a bottle of wine was beyond Kisame, but he watched his partner drink about half the bottle before setting it down on the coffee table beside Kisame’s beer, eyes meeting.

“I’m undercover for Konoha,”

 

Kisame came too with a pounding pain in his jaw, handcuffed to an interrogation room table. Mei sat across from him, arms folded and looking incredibly pissed.

Her insults were like lava, hot at first and then cooled down into nicer corrections.

Her scolding, however, was like acid, and she stung hard.

 

Itachi sat in the interrogation room by himself, looking about two seconds from breaking down into tears.

“I feel bad for the kid,” Tsunade said, pursing her lips.

“He murdered his family,” Tenzo said.

“Did he?” Tsunade glanced at Kakashi. “What do you think?”

Kakashi looked back at his partner, unsure.

“I don’t know,” Kakashi shook his head. “His alibi on the night of the murder is solid. There’s camera feeds showing him at the library at the time of the murder,”

“So, he was framed,” Tenzo guessed. “But by who?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea what to do for Kiri's police force, so I made most of the members the Seven Swordsmen.  
> Thank you so much for reading!!! :)


	21. Housewarming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi tries to get something out of his suspect, and asks Gai an important question.

“Did you do it?”

The question hung in the air of the interrogation room, Tenzo’s question breaking the stiff silence.

Itachi looked down at his bound hands, almost scowling at them. Kakashi was thankful that he wore a mask, since it reminded him of the same look Sasuke gave whenever he was frustrated at something in front of him.

“No,” Itachi said, voice wavering. “I loved my parents,”

“Loved?”

“They’re dead, aren’t they?”

Kakashi sighed, pulling out his phone and opening up the gallery. Tapping the ‘kids’ folder, he slid the phone over towards Itachi.

Silence filled the room once more as he watched his former partner carefully flip through the myriad of photos with a small smile.

“Tell us everything you know,” Kakashi said. “And, I’ll let you see your brother,”

“Using my own flesh and blood as a bargaining chip? How low, Kakashi,” Itachi stopped at a picture of Sasuke, forced to play dress-up with Sakura. She had somehow managed to wrangle him into a frilly dress of hers and a pair of her little plastic princess shoes. Naruto was off to the side, wearing a princess crown and a cape. “They’ve grown so much…”

“Then please, tell us what you know,” Tenzo said. “We can clear this all up,”

Itachi shook his head, coming to the end of the album, the most recent picture one that Sasuke took himself, his face too close to the camera.

“They’ll kill me,”

 

Gai sat at Kakashi’s desk, leg bouncing as he waited for his boyfriend. Iruka was at Gai’s house watching the children, allowing him to slip away and wait for Kakashi to hopefully be done with his interrogation. He felt awful, having their date cut short and Kakashi’s day off wasted, and he just wanted to be there for his boyfriend, to hold him close and let him know that everything would be fine.

Kakashi came into view ten minutes after Gai arrived, looking done. He nearly collapsed into Gai’s lap, pressing his face into the crook of his neck and letting out a frustrated groan.

“I’m sorry, Kakashi,” Gai held him close, rubbing soothing circles into his back. He knew how important it was that Kakashi found Itachi, but now, it seemed, that he was at yet another dead end with this case.

“Itachi won’t talk,” Kakashi mumbled into his shoulder.

“Want to go home?”

“Yes,”

 

Kakashi was glad that at least the day hadn’t been a complete waste. He held Sasuke a little tighter as they ate ice cream from the carton, eyes fixed on the movie Neji had picked out. Crammed into Gai’s cozy little living room, the summer heat had turned into a comfortable breeze with the windows wide open. Lee, Sakura and Naruto were in a pile on the floor, bowls of ice cream in front of them. Tenten and Neji were tucked into Gai’s side, while Sasuke was safe in Kakashi’s lap.

Gai rested his head on Kakashi’s shoulder, humming along to the song that the characters sang on the TV. All the panic and stress from early slipped away like the breeze whenever Gai was around, and Kakashi was forever thankful for that.

Late that night, wrapped in each other’s arms, Kakashi pressed a kiss to Gai’s cheek before resting his head on his chest.

“Gai?”

“Yes, my man of destiny?”

“Move in with me,”

The choked sob that came from his boyfriend, followed by the abundance of love afterwards, made it worth it.

 

Kakashi had never meant to buy a large house. It just happened that way. When he had moved from the cramped apartment he had shared with Itachi shortly after his disappearance, he moved into a five-bedroom home with no real need other than enjoying the large space and the backyard that the dogs could run around in. Sasuke and Naruto had always slept in the same room, so it seemed obvious to have them share a room. Sakura liked her own space, and when he first adopted her, Iruka and Tenzo helped him paint the room a bubblegum pink, just like her hair. The other two bedrooms were just office space and a guest bedroom, which Kakashi was now happy to clear out in order to make room for Gai’s family.

Neji and Lee decided to share a bedroom, the one across the hall from Sasuke and Naruto’s bedrooms. Tenten wanted to stay in Sakura’s room, which left Kakashi’s office space alone. Later, he figured, if the kids got a bit older, it would be someone’s room.

Gai set up his turtle tank in the office, humming along happily. Boxes upon boxes seemed to nestle themselves into the nooks and crannies of the rooms, but it helped make the house feel homier.

“Kakashi, you absolute madman,” Iruka said, helping reassemble Lee’s bed. “This is, like, one step away from marriage,”

Kakashi shrugged, flashing a smile at Iruka that was telling. His friend snorted before erupting into a laughing fit, Pakkun deciding to jump into his lap before he fell onto the carpet, clutching his stomach.

Today, he had been granted another day off while Tsunade and Mei gave their go at the pair, letting Kakashi work himself weary with Gai, setting their home.

“Our home has a nice ring to it,” Kakashi said, coming up behind Gai and wrapping his arms around him. He pressed a kiss to his ear, feeling the warmth from Gai’s back radiate to him.

If he thought Gai would stop tearing up at hearing that, he had another thing coming.

 

Their first dinner together was pizza, Tenzo stealing a slice of tomato and basil from Sasuke, who nearly threw a salt shaker at him had Sakura not knocked it out of his hand. Iruka whined when Bull snatched his piece from his plate, much to the amusement of the kids. Kakashi nearly laughed as he watched Neji eat his pizza with a fork and knife, eating in proper little bites. Compared to his brother, Lee ate like a rabid animal, inhaling his piece quickly. Naruto ate the same, but not before pulling off a piece of cheese and sticking it on Tenten’s arm, which she squealed about.

Gai sat back, watching their family eat happily.

It felt nice to say, ‘their’ family. Asuma teased him when he began to replace some of the pictures in his office, taking down the bodybuilding competition photos and putting in their place pictures of him, Kakashi and their children.

“You’re really in deep, huh?” Asuma said to him once.

And he was, Gai agreed, leaning over to press a small kiss to Kakashi’s cheek.

Being deep in love felt nice, he thought, as he laced his fingers with Kakashi’s free hand.

“I love you,” Gai said. He truly did.

Kakashi turned to look at him, truly smiling.

“I love you, too,” he squeezed his hand, once, twice, thrice.

Things would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'll try to keep updating as frequently as possible!


	22. Brothers

It’s Kisame who cracks first, but only when Zabuza and Ameyuri tear him a new one in the interrogation room.

Tsunade watched at Mei’s side, watching the Kiri officer nearly die from the verbal lashing he got.

“I’ll taze you if you ever do this bullshit ever again,” Ameyuri said, slamming the door shut behind her. She let out a deep breath, her sly smirk returning. “You’re good, cap,”

“Thank you, Ameyuri,” Mei smiled at her, watching her shortest officer walk away.

“She’s feisty,” Tsunade said. “I like her,”

“She’s my best when it comes to getting people to crack, but a little too trigger happy with her tazer,” Mei said fondly. “And Zabuza knows how to put people down and make them feel terrible. Torture in a legal sense is his specialty,”

“Remind me not to get caught in Kiri, ever,” Tsunade teased.

 

Itachi, however, was much harder.

“Just tell us,” Tsunade nearly begged, rubbing her eyes. “And we can get you protection, if need be. You’ll be safe,”

“No,”

“Your partner talked,” Inoichi, from the crime unit, who had joined her, said. “Just do this for Kakashi. You owe the man for dumping your little brother on him,”

“If I tell you everything, will Kisame be granted the same?”

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

“I suppose I can work something out with Terumi,” she said. “Why?”

Itachi’s face flushed red before he turned away, refusing eye contact.

God, she couldn’t wait to go home and gossip to Jiraiya about this.

 

Between the two of them, they revealed the location of their current hideout, their leader, and most of the aliases for the current members.

“You said you joined to find your parents’ murderer,” Tenzo, having just came in, said. “Who is it?”

Itachi looked down his hands, trying to will them to stop shaking.

“Danzo Shimura,” he said. “Orochimaru was his accomplice. That’s why the katana was in the old hideout in Suna. The home had once belonged to Danzo’s family,”

“You do realize you’re implicating a high-profile political figure,” Inoichi said.

“I understand,” Itachi said. “He’s the true one who’s behind everything in the Akatsuki, and I have proof in my apartment, which you’ve probably already searched. Danzo has my cousin in it, somehow, my only other family member besides Sasuke,”

He reached over, pointing to a blurry photo of Deidara and one of his partners.

“Kamui is my cousin, Obito,” Itachi began. “I was told by my parents that he had gotten into a bad accident when he was twelve, and that he passed. He doesn’t know that I know, but I think he has some form of memory loss, since he thinks his name is Tobi, and that he’s somehow related to Konan,”

 

Stepping foot into the Hatake-Might household was a different experience. Where their apartment had been cramped, the house felt open and lived in, comforting.

A sanctuary away from the world, it seemed.

“I’m a man of my word,” Kakashi said, setting his keys down. Itachi gingerly toed off his shoes, following him into the house.

“Bull?” Itachi raised an eyebrow at the older dog, watching him pad over. “He got…”

“Old? Fat?” Kakashi supplied, watching his former partner nod. “Yeah, Naruto keeps sneaking him his food at the table,”

Kakashi poked his head into the kitchen, seeing Gai with Neji on his shoulders as they flipped grilled cheese sandwiches. Sakura was busy rolling out cookie dough, her tongue sticking out as she focused on her task.

“I’m home,” Kakashi said, loving the smile that Gai gave him.

“Welcome home, handsome,” Gai said, helping Neji slide off his shoulders so he could give Kakashi a hug and kiss. “Sakura’s making sugar cookies for you,”

“It was gonna be a surprise!” she whined, pouting. “Papa, who’s that?”

“Uh,” Itachi suddenly felt unwelcomed. “I-”

“Remember when I told you that Sasuke had another family before us?” Kakashi asked, leaning down to pick up his daughter. “Well, this is Sasuke’s brother. Say hi to Itachi, Sakura,”

“Hi,” she waved. “Papa, is he my brother, too?”

“No, sweetie,” Gai laughed. “He’s Sasuke’s brother,”

“I want a brother, too!” Naruto announced, running into the kitchen, Tenten on his heels. “Can I have a juice box, Dad?”

“Naruto’s so big,” Itachi said, remembering the cute little blond baby he used to hold.

“Just one,” Kakashi said, reaching into a cupboard to pull out one for Naruto and Tenten.

“Can you be my brother?” Naruto asked, tugging on the sleeve of Itachi’s shirt. “If you’re Sasuke’s brother, and he’s my brother, that means you’re my brother, right?”

“It doesn’t work like that, Naruto,” Kakashi shook his head. “Where’s Sasuke?”

“In our room,” Naruto said, still hanging onto Itachi’s arm. “Why?”

“Can you show me?” Itachi asked, and Naruto nodded, flashing the bright smile that was so reminiscent of Kushina’s.

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto shouted, running into his bedroom. “Your brother’s here!”

Sasuke looked up from his book on dinosaurs, making a face.

In the doorway, Naruto was holding onto the man he had met in the aquarium.

“Hi, Sasuke,” Itachi said quietly, watching his little brother carefully.

“Hi,” Sasuke said, standing up from his beanbag chair on the floor to walk over to Itachi.

“Can I hug you, Sasuke?” Itachi asked, waiting.

Sasuke nodded, and Itachi knelt down wrapping his arms around his little brother.

“Ow, you’re squishing me,” Sasuke complained, feeling Itachi’s shoulders shake under his hands. “Why are you crying? Are you sad?”

“No,” Itachi said, steadying himself with a deep breath. “No, Sasuke. I’m so happy. I missed you so much,”

“Papa talks about you,” Sasuke said. “He said you love me lots,”

“I do,” Itachi tried to stop the tears coming, his efforts fruitless. He didn’t even notice Kakashi standing behind him, snapping a quick picture on his phone. Itachi’s brow furrowed as he blinked through his tears, letting out a small huff of laughter. “Is that the dinosaur?”

“My dino?” Sasuke asked, letting himself out of Itachi’s grasp. He ran over and grabbed the big stuffed green thing, holding it up over his head. “This is my dino,”

“I bought him for you,” Itachi laughed, taking it from Sasuke’s hands. “I bought it when you were born, when Mom was still in labor with you,”

“You got me my dino?”

“I can’t believe you still have it,” Itachi said, more to himself as he observed the ugly green thing. He glanced over at the table next to Sasuke’s bed, the picture taken shortly after his graduation framed.

All family photos had gone to Kakashi, and Itachi felt a sudden pang at the recognition, not being able to see any pictures of his family in the past four years.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Kakashi asked, watching as Naruto threw himself at Itachi’s back, scaling him.

“That sounds really nice, actually,” Itachi said, giving Kakashi a genuine smile.

 

Kakashi found him later that night, passed out next to Sasuke’s bed. He was slumped against the bed, resting his head on the mattress and holding Sasuke’s hand in his hand. Sasuke was curled up around his head, clutching his dinosaur with his free hand. Naruto migrated from his bed to the floor, sleeping against Itachi’s back. It seemed that Naruto tried tossing a blanket over the two of them, Naruto’s frog blanket half on Itachi’s leg and the rest wrapped around Kakashi’s youngest.


	23. Finale.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New beginnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and sticking along with this fic! It truly means a lot to me.  
> I ran out of motivation to complete this around the time I last updated, but I still wanted to complete it and not have the story end on an open note.  
> Again, thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy the final chapter!

Kakashi was not prepared for any of this.

Over the course of the next few weeks, he and Yamato, alongside the task force, found and brought in the remaining members of the Akatsuki. After a year long investigation, he could finally breathe easy.

That being said, life after closing one of their most important drug busts was still ever-changing.

Gai was up and ecstatic, as usual, helping the kids get ready for school with his overabundance of energy early in the morning. Kakashi had been too nervous to sleep, opting instead to spend the night lying perfectly still next to Gai, trying not to wake him as he stared at the ceiling.

“Lunches?”

“Yup!”

“Shoes?”

“Yup!”

“Backpack?”

“Hm,” Kakashi watched Naruto pause, before bolting back to his room to grab the frog patterned backpack. “Check!”

“Then, we’re all set to head out!” Gai smiled, looking at the six little ones in front of him. His kids were going into the first grade, while Kakashi was nervously sending his off to kindergarten. Neji had insisted on dressing himself, adamant on being able to do so himself. Tenten needed help with her hair buns, letting Gai spin them atop her head and secure them with pins, knowing that she would probably be running rampant at recess. Lee was still clinging to Gai’s leg, not wanting to leave just yet, though he was excited to go back to school.

Naruto stood by the door, fidgeting with the straps on his backpack, staring down at his new shoes that he had insisted on getting since they lit up. Sasuke had dressed himself, looking his usual grumpy self in the morning, hair sticking everywhere no matter how hard Kakashi tried to tame it.

“Are you almost ready?” Kakashi asked, helping Sakura brush out her hair. She grabbed her favorite headband, holding it out for him to tie it in place, keeping her hair out of her face.

“We’re done!” Gai said, grabbing his keys. “I’ll meet you there?”

“Sure. Love you,”

“I love you, too!” Gai said, saying goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke before heading out the door.

Kakashi secretly wanted to pull his kids back into his arms, to never let them go, to have them stop growing so quickly.

Adjusting his mask before grabbing his coat, he glanced down at his three babies, sensing their nervousness and excitement.

“No hitting, no biting, no fighting with anyone, please,” Kakashi said, watching three little heads whip up and look at him. “Just behave, or Iruka will tell me,”

“Okay, Dad,” Naruto nodded, pushing towards the door. “I wanna go!”

“Alright, alright,” Kakashi shook his head, fighting the urge to smile.

Maybe letting them grow wasn’t terrible.

 

Kakashi had his heart broken when the kids went to their classroom.

“Now, please be good, okay?” Kakashi said, crouching down to be level with them. “And don’t give Iruka a hard time-”

“Okay, Dad, we know,” Naruto said, making a face. “Can we go now?”

“Uh, yeah-”

“Bye!” Naruto waved, turning to run into the classroom without a second glance. Sasuke waved, following after him.

“Bye, Papa!” Sakura at least let Kakashi hug her, pressing a small kiss to her forehead before she ran off, recognizing Ino in the classroom.

It seemed that maybe he needed his kids more than they needed him sometimes.

 

Itachi swung by the house later on that day, having been busy back to the station and unable to send the kids off that morning. Kakashi was waiting on the porch, reading through one of his worn copies of his favorite romance series.

“How was it?” Itachi asked, taking a seat beside him. “Did they have a breakdown?”

“The opposite,” Kakashi said glumly. “Sasuke didn’t even say goodbye to me,”

“How terrible,” Itachi placed a hand on his chest. “I’m so sorry,”

“No, you’re not. You’re just as bad,”

“I’m sorry, about that,”

“You had a duty to fulfil,” Kakashi sighed. “It’s not your fault. It was just…really hard,”

“I’m forever grateful to you for taking care of Sasuke,” Itachi said, looking out down the road. “Looks like they’re coming,”

Kakashi closed his book, getting ready to get the kids off the bus. He hadn’t expected all six kids to come rushing towards him at first, nearly getting toppled over with their collective force. Tenten was saying something about a fight that happened on the playground, Neji was talking about his cousin, and Lee was jumping up and down trying to tell Kakashi about how he flipped himself upside down on the monkey bars. Naruto was trying to climb up his side, excitedly talking about making a friend. Sasuke made a beeline to Itachi, telling him about the loud redhead girl who sat next to him and tried saying that she was his boyfriend. Kakashi could hear the sound of disgust coming from Sasuke, and Itachi’s muffled laughter.

Sakura, however, was inconsolable. Kakashi scooped down to pick her up, resting her on his hip so she could press her face into his shoulder, her small frame shaking with every sob.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, and Sakura cried harder, and he noticed her headband was missing.

“Some boy said that Sakura’s forehead was really big, and then Ino beat him up!” Naruto shouted, jumping to get Kakashi’s attention. “It was cool!”

Kakashi pressed a kiss to her forehead, her sobs turning into whimpers as she rubbed the tears from her face.

Gai would later tell her that her forehead was the perfect size for kisses, and Kakashi would watch his boyfriend pepper her face with kisses, her laughter ringing through the air.

Naruto would shout over dinner that he made friends with Shikamaru, and how he liked cloud watching and his best friend Choji. Sasuke would talk about the girl he sits next to, Karin, and how she was nice when she wasn’t trying to hug him. Tenten would talk about how cool it was to see Ino punch the boy who made fun of Sakura, and that she was told that her handwriting was nice by her teacher. Neji would tell Gai that he actually played with Hinata, and they had fun. Lee would talk about all the friends he made, but he still was best friends with Gaara.

Kakashi looked out at his family all crowded around the dinner table, Itachi listening intently as Naruto filled him in on his day while Sasuke sat by his side sneaking the cherry tomatoes out of Itachi’s salad and popping them into his mouth. Gai was smiling brightly at Sakura and Tenten, while Neji and Lee were talking to themselves.

“You good, Kakashi?” Iruka asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Yeah,” Kakashi smiled. “I am,”

 

The months seemed to fly by as the kids progressed through school, winter break already there and coming to a close.

Gai’s birthday was drawing near, and Kakashi felt butterflies take home in his stomach, his anxiety growing.

“They’ll be fine,” Itachi reiterated, holding Sasuke and Naruto’s hands, Sakura with her backpack on. “I can watch the kids. My apartment is big enough,”

“That’s not it,” Kakashi said, watching his former partner raise an eyebrow. “Kids, do you have everything you need?”

With a chorus of six different variations of ‘yes,’ Itachi left the Might-Hatake household, the kids bundled up in their snow gear.

Once the door clicked shut behind them, Kakashi brought his hands to his pockets, fumbling with the box in his left.

Gai would be home any moment, and that was enough to make him want to back out, his stomach in knots and his heart racing a hundred miles an hour.

 

“I’m home, my beloved rival!” Gai announced, tapping his boots against the entryway to dust off any excess snow.

“Yo,” Kakashi greeted, coming over to press a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. “Ready for a night in with no kids?”

“You bet,” Gai shrugged off his coat, using his free hands to wrap his arms around Kakashi’s waist. “I can’t wait to eat dinner and go to bed at eight like the old men we’re becoming,”

“Maa, where’s your youthful attitude?” Kakashi teased, pressing another kiss to Gai’s cheek. “Anything in particular you want for dinner tonight?”

“Anything you make is an amazing meal to me, Kakashi,” Gai smiled brightly at him.

Everything Gai did for Kakashi made him feel warm, as if he had been laying out in the golden rays of the sun. Fate had truly blessed him with someone special, someone whose love drove away the sadness and anger he once held. Gai’s presence in his life, and giving Kakashi the gift of three more wonderful children, was something truly divine.

“I already have the curry sauce making,” Kakashi kissed Gai again, because it felt so right to be able to do so whenever he wanted to.

“I love you,”

“I love you, too,”

 

Kakashi felt like he was going to throw up with how nervous he was, hands trembling slightly as he tried to eat his curry.

“Something wrong, Kakashi?” Gai asked. “You don’t look good. You look like you might get sick,”

“I’m fine, nothing to worry about,” Kakashi said, waving it off. “Just…worried about the kids,”

“Itachi’s watched them plenty of times before,” Gai raised an eyebrow. “What’s the difference now?”

“Nothing,” Kakashi took a bite. “Is there anything special you want to do for your birthday tomorrow?”

“Not really. I closed the gym for the day, and I was just planning on spending the morning in bed with you until the kids got home, then spend the day all together,”

“Nothing special?”

“Time with you and our family is special enough to me,”

Kakashi smiled, the words ‘ _our_ family’ giving him enough confidence to calm down a bit so dinner could be finished without any more mishaps.

 

Kakashi forgot about the ring as he lay next to Gai, trying to catch his breath and basking in the afterglow. He nearly bolted out of bed to grab his pants to prevent Gai from seeing the box that was threatening to peek out of his pocket, but he decided against it once Gai rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around Kakashi.

“I love you,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to Kakashi’s neck. “Thank you,”

“For what?”

“For loving me, and my children,” Gai said, sniffling into his neck as he felt the tears prick his eyes. “You mean the world to me, Kakashi. You and our children,”

Kakashi moved his hand to clasp Gai’s, squeezing it tightly.

“You mean the world to me, too,”

“More than your trashy romance novels?”

“As if I would choose you over good old ‘Make Out Tactics’,”

Gai feigned a gasp of shock, the two laughing.

 

Kakashi woke up to his head being crushed against Gai’s chest, his boyfriend’s arms pining his head there. The alarm clock on the nightstand read that it was two in the morning on New Year’s Day.

They slept through the ball drop.

Kakashi frowned, sighing deeply. He had planned to propose at the exact moment the new year rang in, Gai’s birthday. He had even bribed Iruka and Tenzo to keep Gai busy while he took Itachi to go pick out an engagement ring, Itachi having a knack for tasteful jewelry.

He groaned, pressing his nose into Gai’s pectoral.

“Hm?” Gai mumbled, rubbing his eye and freeing Kakashi. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Kakashi mumbled, pressing a kiss to Gai’s jaw.

“Did we miss the ball drop?”

“Yeah,”

Gai shrugged, closing his eyes again.

“’Night, love of my life,”

“Gai?”

“Hm?”

Kakashi slipped out of bed, deciding that there no time better than now. Better get it done and over with and have Gai say no rather than drag it on. He fumbled in the dark, trying to find his pants as he grasped the box. He flipped on the bedside lamp, crawling back onto the bed.

“Gai,” Kakashi licked his lips, holding the box in both hands to hide it. “I really, really, love you. I know I’m not the best at explaining my emotions and things, but I cherish every moment I have with you and the kids. I see your kids as my own, and you see mine as your own, and since they love you so much, I asked…”

He trailed off, swallowing.

 

_“Neji, Tenten, Lee,” Kakashi knelt down in front of them, the four huddled close. “I have a top secret to tell you guys,”_

_“What?” Tenten asked._

_“Tell us!” Lee jumped up and down._

_“I want to ask your Dad to marry me,” Kakashi said, watching the smiles spread across the kids’ faces. “But I have something super important to ask,”_

_“What is it?” Neji asked._

_“Will you guys have me as your other dad?” Kakashi asked, trying not to cry once he noticed Lee cry._

_“Yes,” Lee sobbed, throwing his arms around Kakashi’s neck._

_“You’re already our other dad though,” Tenten said. “Yeah,”_

_Neji nodded, and Kakashi scooped the kids up into a tight hug._

 

“I asked the kids, and now, I’m asking you,” Kakashi said, opening the box. “Gai, will you marry me?”

Kakashi expected his emotional boyfriend to erupt into tears.

Instead, he erupted into laughter, and Kakashi’s heart sank to the bottom of his stomach.

“Fine,” Kakashi mumbled, snapping the box shut. “I-”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Gai said, sitting up to grab Kakashi’s hand in his. “Kakashi,”

He turned, pulling open his nightstand and taking out a similar little box, flicking it open to reveal a simple silver band.

“I was going to propose to you tonight, too,” Gai said. “You were acting so sick, so I was going to put it off until you felt better, and then we ended up falling asleep after having sex, so I forgot,”

Kakashi felt all his worries melt away, stifling a laugh.

“You goof,” he said, leaning forward to press a kiss to Gai’s lips. He brought a hand up to brush away Gai’s tears, shakily pulling the ring out of the box to slide it onto his fiancé’s ring finger. Gai did the same, pulling back to look at Kakashi’s face in the dim glow of their bedroom.

“So handsome,” Gai smiled, leaning in to capture Kakashi’s lips with his.

“Well, that was certainly an unexpected surprise,” Kakashi laughed. “I love you, Gai,”

Gai pressed a kiss to Kakashi’s little mole at the corner of his mouth, unable to stop the tears or his smile.

“I love you just as much, Kakashi,”

 

Since Gai and Kakashi did things their own special way, they waited until the spring to get married at the orchard they had one of their first dates with the kids, their friends crowded together.

“Sasuke,” Itachi huffed. “Please, let me fix your hair,”

“No,” Sasuke pouted. Naruto fidgeted with the pillow that had the two wedding bands tied to it, Sakura twirling around in her flower girl dress, Tenten matching beside her.

“Lee,” Asuma rolled his eyes. “Stop running all around, you’ll get your suit dirty,”

“I want to play, Asuma,” Lee jumped, Kurenai hiding her laughter behind her hand. Neji watched his siblings act out, thankful that he was the ‘normal’ one.

Gai was nervous, feeling his hands shake as he looked to Kurenai for reassurance.

“You’ll be fine,” Kurenai said, giving her friend a big smile. “You love him, and he loves you, so there’s nothing to worry about,”

“I know,” Gai said. “I’m sweating like crazy, and I’m scared I’ll mess up my vows,”

Asuma barked a laugh, not helping Gai’s nerves.

 

“Aww, my little Hatake is grown up,” Tsunade pinched Kakashi’s cheek where he stood at the makeshift altar, Iruka, Tenzo, and Itachi by his side. “Jiraiya and I will watch the rug-rats for the honeymoon,”

“It’s bad enough he’s officiating the wedding,” Kakashi said, fidgeting with his lapel. Iruka put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring look.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Itachi said, the voice of reason.

“Worse comes to worse, you mess up and it’s forever recorded in your wedding video,” Tenzo said, less helpful.

“You’ll be fine,” Iruka said.

He hoped so.

 

Gai looked so handsome in his tuxedo, the dark green accentuating his features nicely, complimenting everything about his husband-to be.

Kakashi looked stunning in his grey tuxedo, the color always fitting his handsome rival.

Sakura and Tenten walked down the aisle ahead of Gai, sprinkling rose petals. Tsunade held a hand to her heart, smiling at how adorable the girls looked. Thankfully, Sasuke and Neji didn’t shove each other as they walked down together, Lee and Naruto right behind.

Naruto, in true Naruto fashion, tripped over his loose shoelace halfway down, causing Izumo and Kotetsu to giggle uncontrollably, Kakashi’s squad his witnesses.

The moment Gai took Kakashi’s hand, nervous and full of love, he realized everything would work out for them and their family.

Sliding the rings they had bought together onto each other’s finger left both husbands teary-eyed, Kakashi not even waiting for Jiraiya to officially announce them as husbands before grabbing Gai’s face and pulling him into a kiss. The only thing they could hear were the loud cheers of their friends and of their children, who crowded around their dads to hug them tightly.

They had each other, and they had come into one another’s lives in an unexpected way, and the love they had together and the family they forged together were the only things that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all soooo much for reading! <3 Please let me know what you think!


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